An Avenger: Yamouri Kesaki
by Yamouri Kesaki
Summary: Yamouri Kesaki Orig. Charc. is the female member in team Guy. After a tragedy she went through as a child she dedicates herself to becoming stronger and is after a former friend Kento. Along the way she makes great friends and faces evil encounters.
1. Chapter 1 Enter Yamouri Kesaki

"Take that!" Kento smirks as he throws dandelions in my face. He stands over me with a stupid grin on his face waiting for my response.

"You're blocking the clouds with your big head," I say playfully. He is really hard to entertain these days. We can't even stay in one place for very long without him getting bored.

"Can we go somewhere else now? This is so boooooring," Kento whines," I mean I don't get what's so great about clouds anyways, they never change. They stay the same all the time. Come on Yamouri why don't we go find something dead and poke it with sticks?" He laughs hysterically like it's the funniest thing ever when it's disgusting.

"I think I'll pass, but we can go somewhere else if you want then," I say. It's so annoying how I finally get comfortable and then we have to move again. I quickly sit up and notice Kento is already running through the field ruining all the flowers, and going to the dark end of the woods. " Hey! Wait for me!" I yell. Keeping up with him is like trying to swim with your hands and feet tied. Not fun at all...

"Hurry up Yamouri! How do you plan on being a shinobi one day if you can't even keep up with me running?" He mocks. He starts to run faster to the point where I can't even see him anymore. I try to speed up too, but suddenly I lose my balance and tumble over. I've scraped my knee and now it's bleeding. I try to just brush it off and begin running again; only I don't know which direction Kento went. Kento has always been impatient and self-centered, he has always been a show off too, and he spends way too much time on his silky black hair ever since I could remember.

Kento grew up as an orphan. His parents died in battle when he was only 2, so he doesn't really remember them. He doesn't like talking about it though. You can see his sadness though sometimes in those big blue eyes he has. He tries to act tough around others and especially me since he's older than me and what not. He is also very competitive with my older brother Kyho. My brother doesn't like him at all. Oh well...

"Kento!" I yell, "Where'd you go?" I hear nothing but birds. What a jerk, leaving me in the middle of the woods like this. "I'm going home! I don't feel like playing the cat and mouse game." Suddenly sticks are flying out of the sky and hitting my head. I see Kento above me in a tree. "What are you doing?" I ask. He smiles slightly calling me a dummy.

"It's about time! You take forever, and what did you do to yourself?" He asks starring at my knees, "Come on follow me, and try not to be so slow." I slap the back of his head, "Shut up!" I hiss while laughing at his face expression. Kento hates it when I hit him, but he can't do anything back. We head towards this hill because Kento is determined to climb a certain tree right at the edge.

"Are you coming?" He asks as he steadies himself on the first branch.

"Sure why not," I reply. I didn't want to be a downer and be all scared. I steady myself on the first branch also and see Kento already half way up the tree. "You look like a monkey!" I laugh.

"Don't feel insecure just because you can't even beat me at climbing a tree!" He mocks. I look over and see the branches extend right over the edge off the hill we're on. I can't even see the bottom. I try and steady myself while I climb onto the second, and then the third branch. Kento is almost at the top; I reach for the fifth one and nearly slip, but catch myself in time. The branches are starting to extend right over the edge. I look down and I'm right off the edge, if I slip... then..

"Don't look down Yamouri!" Kento exclaims. He doesn't show he's nervous in his voice, though he is.

"I'm not!" I reply. The branches seem to be more spread out now. This tree is very different than any other trees. There aren't many branches. I reach for the ninth branch now. The branch I'm on starts to crack. Kento hears it to and looks down at me.

"Reach for the other one hurry!" He yells. My hand reaches for the next one, but it's out of my reach, the branch is now making a loud crack sound. I lean forward and manage to get a grip of the branch above, but then that branch breaks off and the branch underneath me does to.

"AAHH!" I scream at the top of my lungs. I fall down two branches and manage to catch myself cutting my arms in the process. The branch I'm on now starts to crack also. All I can see is under me and how there is no ground. My short brown hair all hangs loose and in my face no longer in my tiny side pig tails. The branch breaks. What seems like minutes is only a matter of seconds. Kento pulls my arms back up towards the tree as my body dangles over the edge; he's using chakra to hold his grip on the tree. There's something different about that chakra though, it gives me a strange feeling. He's just started learning things to become a shinobi recently, so how could he already be able to do that? I look up and see Kento looking into my green eyes.

"Kento..." I stutter.

"That's enough tree climbing for now," He says as he pulls me back up onto the ground. Without another word he leaves and walks back to the woods with his hands in his pockets. I didn't even get to say thank you. I guess he just isn't into that. He has been acting so weird though lately, it all started about a week ago when he was gone in the woods far longer than usual and didn't tell anyone what he was up to. That chakra was also very different. Well there's not much I can do now, since he won't tell me what's up. I look at the dark sky thinking where did the time go? I sit by the tree that I tried to climb and failed and notice the stars are out tonight. I sit there for a while to think to myself. "I wish there was a shooting star so I could make a wish right now."

~.::.::.::.::.::.~A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::. ~

"I'm going to be in so much trouble! My mom is going to kill me!" I think to myself while rushing back home.

"You're so busted," Says Kyho as I walk through the door. "Where are they?" I ask. Looking around for my parents with a scared expression.

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick! I bet you were with that kid again. How many times do we have to tell you, chores come first young lady, than you can go play ninja all you want when you've done with your work! I knew that kid was bad news….How many times have I told you not to hang out with him!" Shouts my mom as she enters with my father. I try to get by with just giving them my, I'm so ashamed look, but they don't go for it.

"Kyho had to do yours when he came home from the academy, and he is injured too! What a good kid he is doing your work when he is in no condition to do so, and there you are running around playing in the mud. Look at you! You're all scratched up! Go clean yourself right now! As your punishment you will do double the work tomorrow, you'll do yours and Kyho's," she says angrily.

"What!" I yell making a fist behind my back.

"You heard me!" She yells back sending shivers down my spine.

"That's not fair..." I mumble.

"Oh yes it is! Keep that up and you'll be doing double chores for the next two weeks," She insists." Or maybe the rest of your life!"

"Ow…My arms hurt so bad mom!'" Mumbles Kyho to make me look even worse. I gave him a glare and he just smiled at me. He just has to go make things worse for me for his entertainment.

My parents are the lamest people I know. We don't get along very well. They've always favored my older brother Kyho. He is so boring though, and always does what he's asked to do. I mean he's ok sometimes, but other times I want to strangle him. My parents have always viewed me as a second son, because I'm such a tomboy. My mom says I don't act like a young lady, but none of that matters because one day I will be one of the best shinobi of our clan and our village of the clouds. My brother claims he is going to be the best. I'll show him whose best in a few years. He better just wait.

Many shinobi here are best known for using swords in battle and focusing their chakra in their sword with unique attacks much different than other villages. Our village is a part of the village hidden in the clouds, but a separate part so we have a smaller area. It's located high up in the mountains and you can only see a bunch of clouds from a far. Also most jutsu and techniques have to do with the wind and lightning. Many of our shinobi have been wiped out. Or are always gone doing stuff. Over the years our village as shrunk a bit. Our closest neighbor is the village hidden in the leaves. I've only been in their twice because Kento used to run errands for his uncle all the time. His uncle was once one of the best shinobi until he had an accident and can barely walk now. They live alone in a small part of our village.

"Such a pretty night it is," I sigh while standing at my window. My room has the best view of everything. At night the clouds disperse a bit so you can see almost all of the stars out. My brother and I use to hang out on our roof at night and try and count them all, but that was before he changed too. He acts so bitter around Kento and just doesn't like to hang with me anymore. All he cares about now is training and becoming one of the best, oh well. I like the breeze you feel at night though, so refreshing and soothing. I'm going to need a lot of soothing for tomorrow. I look down towards the woods and notice some sort of blue light coming from dark. It almost looks like a pair of glowing eyes looking back at me. As quickly as I spot it, they disappear. Suddenly a hell butterfly lands on my window seal. All I can do is stay still and hope it doesn't see me, but all it does is sit there, like it's watching me. I can't move my hand or it'll inject me, so my hand just rests there on the window seal. It slowly walks onto my hand and then flies away, leaving me shocked and confused.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ the next morning ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Get up Yamouri! You have double chores to do this morning!" Shouts my mother.

"It's a Saturday can I sleep in first?" I yell back.

"NO!" She yells even louder. Always in such a bad mood she is.

I hurry out of bed and prepare for the gruesome day I have ahead of me. Black shorts, green t-shirt, short hair in pig tails, all set. My mom is waiting for me with a list of things to do. Kyho was injured the other day so all he can do now is sit around and eat our food. He's not much help anyways. I head out the door with baskets to collect things for my mom, and a basket full of dirty clothes.

I take a long walk to the river on the east side to do the mountain of laundry I've been sentenced to. I'd figure I'd see Kento out here at this time, but nothing... not even a little feeling that he's nearby, but something feels wrong. I really want to tell him about the glowing thing I saw last night and that butterfly. I keep having this sick feeling in my stomach... Like something's wrong, but I don't know what.

~.::.::.::.::.::. ~ A few hours later ~.::.::.::.::.::. ~

"There, almost done with all the laundry," I whisper softly, feeling accomplished. Suddenly I get a weird feeling that I'm being watched. And as the minutes pass the feeling gets even stronger. I look around and see nothing and hear nothing. "Is anyone there?" I start to pack up everything and prepare to make my journey back to the house; suddenly the smell of smoke consumes the forest. I look up at the sky and there's a big cloud of smoke coming from the direction of the village. I assume it's another attack of some sort so I hurry with my things to get back as fast as possible. I decide to take a shorter route. Kento's told me about several short cuts. I decide to run a little, but as I get closer and closer the smoke is getting stronger and thicker.

"What's going on...?" I whisper and begin to cough. The more I go the more harsh the coughs become. I start to worry about my family, was this why I had such a sick feeling? I try and pick up the pace, but baskets begin to fall.

"Ugh! Great! I don't have time for this," One of the baskets break, leaving everything scattered. I try to restack everything, but it won't stay together. The smoke is so intense; it's starting to get even foggier. If it gets any worse I won't know where I'm going. I decide to go back and take the longer route with less smoke, but as I step forward a net flies up. Someone has set traps on this route and I've been caught in one so easily. Something cuts the net though; I didn't see what it was, but that doesn't matter right now. I leave behind some baskets and decide to just take one for a lighter load. My cough just keeps getting worse too, and my lungs are starting to fill with the smoke. I start sprinting now towards the village when something flies by and cuts my cheek. I stop to look around, but I can't see a thing. Am I being attacked? I'm running even harder now and trip on a rock and lunge forward. I lay there and all I can see is a black and green butterfly flutter above my head.

"It's a hell butterfly!" I gasp. As it land on my neck. Before I can say another word I feel an intense pain shoot through my neck. My vision starts to blur as the venom starts to flow through my veins. It feels like time has frozen and I'm just floating there. I bite by lip and ignore the pain as I slowly sit myself up; I can't see anything now. The forest has been overcome by the smoke. Realizing it's something far more serious I leave everything behind and start to walk straight ahead of me.

"Help! Where is everybody?" I yell. I see my village has been overcome by fire. My village is burning to the ground! All of it!

"What's going on!" I cry and no response. Is this really happening or is this a nightmare, I can't wake up from? I force myself to run towards my house, but the venom is making me feel dizzy and unable to hold my balance. "Mom! Dad! Kyho!" I cry when I see my house is up in flames. And then it starts to pour down rain.

Standing at the entrance I can see my family and blood, lots of blood, scattered everywhere. I can hear my heart beat faster and faster, an illusion couldn't be this real. My neck is throbbing so much now and so is the pain. The walls are starting to collapse, as the fire consumes everything. It's taking it all away from me. Everyone killed. I fall to my knees and start to sob. The roof is starting to cave in and the village is absolutely silent. No one alive. Tears streaming down my face and a piece of the ceiling almost lands where I am. I jump up and feel something behind me which startles me. I turn around and see a figure, but I can't see its face.

"Kento...?" I ask, "Where have you been? What...?" The smoke begins to disperse and I see Kento's face is splattered with blood.

"Kento!" I gasp. "What happened to you?" That's when I look down and see Kento holding his uncle's sword, drenched in blood. Feeling my body going numb and fear taking over. I look at his face, his eyes are different. It's not even him anymore.

"Kento! It can't..." I stutter. "You did this?" He stares at me with a blank look in his eyes. Part of me thinks this is all an illusion, that I'm lying somewhere asleep. The other part of me says to run. Before I can do or say anything else... I start to back up and Kento raises his sword.

"Ken..." His sword pierces me threw the chest. All that comes out is a weird grunt sound. My face falls in front of his shoulder as blood starts to pour out of my mouth. I can feel his breath on the back of my neck which makes the little hairs stand up.

"You've always been so weak… How pathetic," He says and pushes it more into my chest making me squirm as I gasp out in pain.

My vision goes fuzzy with my body numb. I can feel the gush of blood oozing from my chest and down to my feet as I stumble away from him. All he does is stand there. Like if he is waiting for me to fall over and die. I should be though, because it should have pierced my heart, but I can still hear my heart beat thumping in my ear. Instead I slowly pull the sword out starting to feel an intense pulse from my chest. He comes towards me again, but I slash his face, leaving a line of blood pours forth from the side of his eye to his chin. Then I attempt to stab him through the chest, but he punches my stomach and I fall forward. Tasting even more blood in my mouth; I fall down helplessly.

"Traitor! Trait...Orr...r..."I mumble feeling pain everywhere. I lose my grip of the sword and lay there for what seems like forever. Kento takes the sword again.

**…...**

My eyes open and I see Kento is gone; the house is still in flames. I must have been out of it for at least five minutes. I notice a picture of my family by the door and next to it is what looks like a pocket knife in a light blue case. Slowly I force myself up and stumble to the objects and grab them, but the pain is too much and I fall over again on the threshold of the door. With the last of my strength I drag myself outside of the house and lay in the middle of the street. My eyes try to close, my breathing becoming very faint. The only sound is wood collapsing, and the rain drops pouring all around me. As I lay there a hell butterfly appears again over my head, and then it goes dark.


	2. Chapter 2 A New beginning

When I finally open my eyes all I can see is the smoke in the air. I wonder how long I've been out. My head aches terribly, and my vision is just starting to clear up. I try to sit myself up, but a pain shoots through my chest that spreads throughout my whole body, a pain that is unbearable. My neck feels stiff and I can tell I've lost a massive amount of blood just by looking at the ground around me. I don't understand, how I'm still alive?

"I need to get out of here," I think to myself. I roll to the side and force myself onto my knees. Blood starts dripping from my chest, but I manage to get on my feet. My legs feel weak and I start to shake a bit. Slowly, I start to walk forward with my hand pressed on my chest to help stop the bleeding. I manage to get past the gate, than I look back for one last time of what use to be home. I don't think I will make it very far from here. As I hold that thought I suddenly hear footsteps. The direction it's coming from I'm not quite sure of yet, but they're definitely close and they're coming fast.

"What if it's Kento coming back to finish the job," I think to myself. Instead a man with a white and red animal- like mask appears. My head feels like it's going to fall off. Is this someone from another part of the village in the clouds?

"Are you the only one left?" Asks the man. I feel the tears stream down as I think of what has just occurred and that it definitely was real. The other men with him enter the village and start to spread out. I try to make some words come out, but nothing does. Instead I fall to the ground; my legs have given out.

"It's going to be alright," He says.

"How can it ever be alright again?" I think to myself.

~.::.::.::.::.::. ~ A few days later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I wake up in a hospital room, except I don't remember how I got here or when. There's no one around. My wounds look like they've been healed a bit; they must have drawn out the venom as well. Suddenly a nurse walks in with a man wearing a gray vest. He looks similar to the last guy I saw.

"Oh hello, you're finally awake," She says with a smile on her face. "How are you feeling?"

"Where am I?" Is all I can manage to come out of my mouth.

"You're in the Konoha village," she replies. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I'm in the Leaf village? How'd I get here?" I ask ignoring her question.

"The Anbu Black Ops found you and brought you here. Did you see what happened?" She asks insisting I answer her question. I get the image of Kento in my mind, from the tree climbing to the last time I saw him. The man with the nurse stares at me. Is he an Anbu black op?

"It was..." I mumble. "Kento Kaneko. He was my friend..." I avoid eye contact not believing the words that come out of my mouth. I'm very confused right now. I was hoping it was all a nightmare, but it actually happened. And I have no clue why.

"Your whole village was massacred and destroyed and you're telling me a kid did this?" The man states sounding annoyed and strict.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Even your shinobi were wiped out, a little kid could not have possibly done this all by himself! He might have had some help… Or maybe someone else did it for him. Do you have any idea if anyone was with him? Did you see anything suspicious?" He adds placing his finger on his mask.

"No," I stutter. Fidgeting with my fingers, fighting back the tears.

"Has your friend ever mentioned anything about a strange man? He didn't tell you anything?" He asks. The look on his face reads that he knows something I don't. What was he trying to hide?

"He didn't say a thing...Why are you asking me this? And why didn't shinobi from the village hidden in the clouds come and help?" I add.

"There's a high possibility that Kento was with a former shinobi from this village," He pauses a moment." I'm not exactly sure why your village didn't find out right away though, or even came to help you." He replies and sighs realizing I know nothing.

"A man from this village?" I think to myself who could that be? After a few more questions he leaves.

"Would you like anything?" Asks the nurse coming to my bed side waiting for my response.

"No," I pause a moment," How long was I asleep?"

"Three days. You were wounded severely. We thought you weren't going to make it for sure. We were confused because the wound on your chest should have pierced through your heart… and there's no way that you could survive that. But then we discovered something," she says trying to smile.

"What?" I ask.

"Your heart is on the wrong side," She smiles and then walks out adding that there's a button on the bed to press if I need anything. I notice my family picture on the stand next to my bed and I fight back the urge to breakdown.

"I promise, your deaths won't be in vein," I whisper to myself. "I will become a shinobi, I will become very strong and I will find you, Kento."

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few hours later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

Another man enters my room; he's accompanied by two other strangers with green vests. I think I've met him before. It's the leaf village's third hokage.

"Ah glad to see you're finally awake Yamouri," The third hokage hands me an envelope. "I remember the first time you came to this village with your friend. Such a shame for a young lad to go the wrong path. "He pauses a moment, "Yamouri I have important things to discuss with you."

I open the envelope and inside is a picture of me and Kento with the third hokage just a few months ago. I'm smiling and so is the Hokage, but this is the first that I notice Kento has a fake smile on.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage. What things?" I ask. I tried not to sound harsh, but honestly I don't get what was the point of handing me this picture after all that's just happened.

"Well it's your choice. If you'd like you'd be welcome to stay in the village hidden in the leaves, or you could return to another part of the village hidden in the clouds. If you decide to stay; however, at your age seeing how you're almost at the age to start at a ninja academy, you could start it here in a bit. If you choose to leave the Konoha village then we'd be happy to have someone escort you," He smiles and then looks at me and then at my picture.

"Uh… I think I'd like to stay here, if that's ok. I want to become a shinobi, and returning back to the village hidden in the clouds would just bring back memories," I try to sound confident, but truth is I'm not sure what I want.

"Splendid! Well I'll have them sign you up when the time comes, but in the meantime, we have a place you can stay at until that time does come." He smiles and then walks away.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage," I reply just in time. He turns around and smiles and then closes the door behind him. I find it strange that I haven't cried much.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~A few years later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

Todays the day! I've waited a long time to finally be a part of the academy and start my journey to becoming a ninja. At night I still look up at the stars, like I use to because it kind of makes it feel like home here. I jump out of bed and prepare myself for the first day. I've always wondered how it would be like. A guy named Mizuki is waiting for me because he was assigned to escort me to the academy, so I hurried to not be late. This was the first time in a while that I was actually excited for something. I tied my hair back into a little pony tail, because my hair is longer now, to be able to do that.

"We're almost there Yamouri," Mizuki says with a warm smile. I told myself that friends would come last and training would always come first. If I'm going to avenge my village and family I'm going to need to be stronger than ever imagined.

"Do we have to go in right away?" I ask nervously. I don't know if I could go through with this. So many doubts rush in at once making me feel overwhelmed.

"It'll be fine, now let's hurry, class has started," Mizuki opens the door and goes in first and starts whispering to the man standing at the front of the room. I wait by the door and take a peek and everyone is looking at the door. Making me feel like I'm about to vomit and pass out.

"Ah! What have I gotten myself into!" I think in myself. Maybe if I slip away then.

"Yamouri, please come in," Says the man in front. Everyone in the room stares at me as I slowly in. People are already starting to whisper among themselves. I hope its good whispering or I'm going to have to go over there and...

"I'm Iruka Umino, you can call me Iruka Sensei," He offers me his hand and I shake it.

"Class this is Yamouri Kesaki, I expect you all to make her feel welcomed," Iruka says a bit serious, but cheerful at the same time. It's like nothing else matters in the room except me, the fresh meat. Some guys look really tough, some girls look really stuck up. Some people weren't even paying attention like the guy in the front in the blue shirt. And there was one that was sleeping.

"Yamouri, please take a seat next to Hinata Hyuuga," he points to girl sitting on the right. When she sees me she gets really shy and just smiles. She's sitting right in front of the sleeping boy.

"Hello..." she stutters. I attempt a smile and take a seat. People continue to stare at me as I put my hand on my cheek and lean to the side. I guess they don't get new students very often.

"Are you new to this village?" a boy in front turns around and looks at me right in the face. He has red marks on his face and spikey brown hair and a little puppy sleeping next to him.

"I was new a few years ago..." I reply. I guess no one knows about my arrival except the shinobi that saved me and the Hokage. Well I like it that way. It's not like I've made any effort to go and socialize anyways.

"How come I haven't seen you around before?" He says in anxious tone, while scratching his head. Then he makes a big smile and offers me his hand.

"Kiba Inuzuka," He says. I shake his hand. "Uhhh... Yamouri Kesaki." Our attention is brought to a loud bang at the front of the room. Everyone turns to look, and a boy with spikey blonde hair is lying on the ground at the front of the class.

"Sorry I'm late Iruka Sensei!" He laughs and stands up and brushes himself. I notice Hinata is starring and her face is slightly red. He looks around and then his eyes lock at where I'm sitting.

"Naruto! You're late again! Take a seat!" Iruka yells and points at his seat. As the class settles down I look around and notice a few girls starring at that boy in blue in the front row.

"What's with all the girls starring at that boy?" I whisper to Hinata. She looks over and notices it too. "You'll get use to it, they just really admire him..." she says sweetly. I glare at the back of his head. He seems like he has an attitude problem. After class, the blonde boy came up to me and introduced himself as Naruto Uzumaki.

I think it was twice today that there was a cat fight. It was interesting to watch. Although, when it came to target practice, I was probably one of the three in the whole class that was actually close to them. I hit the bulls eye every time.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few years later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I was taken out of the class I was in and was put in an upper class with older students after the first two weeks. I was also told I was going to graduate earlier than the other students. I miss having class with my new friends, but I need to be strong so right now friendship is the last thing to worry about.

The class I'm in now is full of air heads and guys that are full of themselves. They're a little older than me as well. I don't really talk to anyone in there. Well it's all good because today is the day.

"Wish me luck Kyho," I say looking at my family picture before I leave. I know he wanted to be in my shoes that's why I have to do this for him as well. I've got a long road ahead of me, but I'm ready.

The jounin in charge of our class says we are going to have our final exam which will determine who gets to graduate. He calls someone and then they leave the room. One-by-one people are called to take the exam. Finally I get called. The room is big and there are only two examiners.

"Yamouri we need you to make a clone of yourself. Then you can receive a head band," they instruct. Ok here's my chance. This shouldn't be so hard. A few seconds later I produce two clones perfectly. They both look very pleased and discuss among themselves for a few minutes and then tell me I pass and give me a headband.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

Lots of people are gathered at the entrance of the academy. Lots of them are family of the students who just graduated. Everyone in the class passed except a few people. I realize that I don't have anyone here waiting for me.

"Everyone who graduated please return tomorrow for the orientation," says the instructor.

"What am I supposed to do now?" I ask myself. I walk away from the crowd and I notice some of them are staring at me and whispering among themselves. I decide to take a walk through the woods, like I used to, and draw. It's a way to calm myself down. I put on in act in front of others. They wouldn't understand if they knew the truth, or maybe they do know, but never mention it to my face.

I find a nice tree to climb on and after a few minutes hear a noise behind me. When I look around I don't see anything so I take out my sketchbook and pencil and begin to draw randomness. I hear footsteps and see Shikamaru walking towards my tree.

"Hey..." He says, hands in his pocket.

"Uh... hey..." I reply.

"So you're already graduating huh? I knew it wouldn't take long," He grins. I jump down from the tree and give him a funny look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I stick my tongue out at him. All that training by myself has paid off. "Have you seen Hinata lately?" I ask. He shakes his head, so I assume she's busy again.

"Tomorrow I'll see who's in my squad," I tell him. I've sometimes been looked down on because I am the youngest in the class I'm only 11. Some guys use to make jokes that a pretty girl like me was only good for having a family and was wasting my time training to be a ninja. After a while Shikamaru leaves and I continue my drawing, which is the sunset.2

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ The next day ~::.::.::.::.::.~

"I'm going to be late!" I hurry out of bed and grab my things and run out the door angry at myself for sleeping in.

"As of today, you are all ninjas, to get here you've faced difficult trials and hardships, but that's nothing, what comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only genin, first level ninjas, all the genin will be grouped into three men squads, each squad will be led by a jounin." says the instructor.

"I will now announce the squads," He goes on listing a bunch of names and squad numbers.

"Squad 6, Yamouri Kesaki, Neji Hyuuga, and Rock Lee."

"What! Who are they?" I think to myself. Did he say rock? I picture myself training with a rock. I look around and a boy is staring at me. He smiles and waves... Oh... I found him. I think that's Lee? I've been in this class for a while now and I can't even determine who my teammates are. I've been so closed off and kept to myself; I never paid attention much to the others. I turn towards the back and notice a boy with long brown hair loosely tied. He looks very serious. Is that the other one...? Oh what was his name? Oh well. It would have been cool to have been in a team with Hinata or Shikamaru, but they don't graduate until next year. I was hoping to at least get someone I talk to.

"Ugh great..."I huff under my breath.

"After lunch you'll meet with your jounin teachers. Then class dismissed," He finishes off and people start to leave the classroom. What do I do now? Should I go or stay? Before I realize it, there's only us three in the class. Both of them are now looking at me, making me nervous, but I take a deep breath and brace myself.


	3. Chapter 3 Team Guy

"So... Hey guys," I say in a friendly manner. They don't respond and I think that I just made myself look really dumb. The room stays quiet and then finally one of them makes a move. The boy who waved walks over to me and takes my hand and just holds it. His face turns red and he smiles big showing his teeth.

"My name is Rock Lee," He says. I think to myself…"So this is the rock!"

"Oh nice to meet you," I add looking down at my hand, he still hasn't let go. "Uh...You can let go now," I mumble. He just makes a smile and steps back looking over at the other boy who stands there with his arms crossed. Yeah well I don't exactly want to be stuck in a team with two strangers either.

"And you?" I ask. Since he didn't take the initiative to talk first.

He looks up and says, "Neji Hyuuga." Well since we got the introductions out of the way we all decide to eat lunch together and get to know each other better. I think Lee is the only one that is kind of excited about this. I'd rather be training off by myself and Neji well who knows what he's thinking. But he just won't wipe off that cold expression on his face.

"What do you think he'll be like?" Asks Lee talking about our jounin teacher.

"Who knows?" I reply. "Maybe it'll be a she." Either way I hope it's someone that can help me. Neji seems to be ignoring us and looking around not putting any effort into the conversation. If the teacher turns out to be some weakling I'm going to figure out a way to drop out of this team. Or run off or move to another village, anything to get away.

"So Yamouri I heard you moved to the Leaf village from another village nearby. Why is that?" Lee asks me. It finally got Neji's attention because he looks at me too waiting for my response which makes me angry.

I pause a moment, "Personal reasons." The idea that Kento is wandering around and I have to deal with all the consequences really ticks me off. I barely know these people so how'd they find out about that? I thought no one knew. This just adds to my stress. But by their expressions they aren't satisfied with my answer.

"Oh I see…" Lee adds.

"I lived in a hidden part connected and separate from the village hidden in the clouds, but I am a part of that village," I explain. By the look on his face I can tell he wanted me to tell him more, but I don't know how far I should take it.

"Oh does your family like it better here?" He asks. I tried my best to hide it, the sadness on my face and the anger. I try and zone out to keep my straight face, but my face wrinkles anyways, revealing its touchy subject. Neji is examining me like I'm under a microscope.

"Uh..." I start to say, but then Neji interrupts and says we should go back to the school to meet our jounin teacher and we all proceeded. I think he noticed how uncomfortable I looked and decided to help me out.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Wow I think he's late," I say sarcastically as we continue to wait. Most of the students have already left and our teacher hasn't arrived yet. Neji makes a face and Lee says to be patient. He seems so energetic; I hope our teacher doesn't end up like that… Five minutes later, Lee starts to complain also. Not such a tough guy now is he?

"Maybe he got lost!" He yells trying to salvage the respect of the unknown teacher. What a bad impression showing up late on our first meeting.

"How could he get lost? He's supposed to be a jounin! It's not that hard to find your way to the academy," I say back. The room is now empty. It's just us three and one other team. Suddenly a man in blue walks in. Lee and I raise our heads and Neji looks too also curious.

"Is that him?" I ask them. But suddenly we see him walk over to the other team. Lee drops his head again on the table and I slap the desk Neji is sitting on. He stares at me with that annoying blank expression.

"Well at least the next guy that walks in could be him," I try to sound cheerful. A few minutes go by and a man walks in wearing a green jumpsuit and shiny bowl haircut. My jaw drops. Even Neji gasps as we see the weirdo walk in.

"Sorry I'm late guys, hope I didn't keep you guys waiting long," He says. I try not to giggle. "What is he wearing? And that haircut oh my," I whisper softly. Lee sees I'm holding back laughter and nudges my arm with his elbow.

"Why don't we go somewhere else and talk," He says. He smiles and I swear I saw his teeth sparkle.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

We sit at a balcony up high. I notice his red head band on his waist instead of the forehead like regular ninja wear. Well I guess it's not about the appearance, if he can fight then I guess I might be satisfied.

"We'll why don't we start out with names," he smiles. "You can call me Guy-sensei."

"So let's start out with something simple, like what are your dreams?' Guy asks. "Why don't we start out with you Yamouri?"

"My dream? I don't really have a dream," My voice turns a bit bitter. "It's more like a goal," I add. He just looks at me and Lee and Neji are also staring like if they want me to explain what I'm talking about. Well I don't plan on opening up with them ever. Then he asks Lee if he has a dream.

"I hope to become a splendid shinobi. I'm going to be a great ninja with just taijutsu!" He exclaims. There's a bit of a pause and then Neji starts to laugh at him. Neji then tells Lee that he can never beat him. Lee gets really mad, but at this point I just tune them out. Guy-sensei interrupts them and asks Neji what is his dream, and then mentions he graduated at the top of the class.

"I don't have one," he says. I notice the blank look in his eyes. Like there's no emotion behind them. I can see Guy-sensei is a bit discouraged by two non-participating students. He tries to sound cheerful and says we're going to start training together tomorrow. Lee gives Neji a glare and I just sigh wanting to go home already. I get that feeling again like I'm being watched by something I can't see, so I start to look around.

…

Well that was an interesting day. Wait! Neji and Hinata share the same last name, are they related? Speaking of Hinata I should go tell her how my day went. But no one answered her door, I guess they're busy. I decide to go look for Shikamaru, but he's busy also. Everyone else is busy to, I guess I can go train again, though my hand still hurts from yesterday. I almost blew my hand off. I get the image of me trying to use my new technique. If I'm going to live up to the Kesaki name I have to master it.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few hours later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

The night has fallen and it's raining a bit. I've been training for hours now and I'm sore everywhere, but no pain no gain, right?

"Here I go again! Barrier jutsu!" This time it works better, but it's not perfect. I need to master other techniques with lightning. I take my pocket knife out, the one thing I saved from my house beside that picture. It was once my dad's but I don't get what's so special about it. I slowly pull it out and can feel my chakra flow through it and it forms into a sword.

"A sword, it's a sword?" I just thought it was a dumb knife but there's something weird about it.

"My chakra is green?" I notice it change once the sword absorbs it. A different shade then the one seen for medical jutsu. I raise it with my right hand and spend the rest of the night trying to use it, but only keep injuring myself. In the handle is a scroll with my family name on it, Kesaki.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ The next day~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I wait in the training ground Guy-sensei told us to wait in, but Lee and Neji haven't arrived yet. I don't think I fell asleep last night. After a few minutes of waiting Lee and Neji arrive finally looking energized. I hide my hands behind my back because they're all bruised up. My sword which appears like a pocket knife now hangs on my waist.

"Ah, Good morning everyone," Guy-sensei smiles and greets. He tells us to train and to do our best moves so he can observe for something. I'm not sure what he meant, but whatever. Neji and Lee go to opposite sides and I take a place separate from all of them. My hands hurt, but that's only a minor setback. After a few hours we are all exhausted. Lee can't even mold chakra in his hand and Neji has made some remarks about it. I haven't done my barrier jutsu or used my new sword because I want to surprise them. Guy-sensei says he knew I was holding back and asks if I could show them some new moves. He said what I was doing was fine, but wanted to see if there was more. Neji and Lee are taking a break so all eyes on me again. I sigh knowing I don't have an excuse not to.

"Barrier jutsu!" Once again a perfect barrier forms around me. I then begin to knock down some dummies with my knives showing I have good aim. Saving the best for last, I start to take out my sword and my chakra begins to flow. Suddenly something goes by and cuts my cheek making me freeze as the blood starts to drip from my face.

"What the...?"I mumble. I look over at them and they're wondering what just happened also. The blood drips onto my sword and it feels like that day all over again. Then a black butterfly flutters out of the woods towards us.

"It's the same one from before," I stand there and watch it flutter over my head. Lee gets ready to throw a knife at it, but then Guy-sensei tells him not to. We all just watch it and I get the urge to put my hand out, and I do. It lands on my hand and just sits there like that time on my window seal. Could it be the same butterfly?

"Friend? Or enemy?" I whisper. My neck begins to throb making me fall to my knees. 'What's going on?" I shout as it flies away. Was it trying to tell me something? Why is my neck throbbing? I see Neji with a look of disbelief on his face. I then notice something weird with his eyes, like veins popping out of his skin surrounding his eyes.

"What is that?" I ask him. He then tells me it's called Byakugan. Apparently something everyone in the Hyuuga clan possesses.

"What was that?" He asks staring at me with an odd expression.

"I don't know...?" I tell him. "A stupid insect?" I add.

"No, your chakra? It's different," After that being said he just looks away like he is no longer interested. I put my sword away and Lee looks kind of annoyed.

"Congrats! You all passed!" Guy-sensei shouts randomly.

"What?" We all say. He then explains that only a few teams can actually become genin and others have to be dropped. He brought us here to see what we're capable of and we passed with ease. So he can pass us and we get to stay like this. So we are now an official team.

After the training session I go look for Hinata, but once again can't find her. Such a drag. Oh my I sound like Shikamaru, maybe I shouldn't hang out with him anymore.

"Hey!" shouts Shikamaru making me jump because I was literally just thinking about him.

"How'd it go?" he asks.

"How'd what go?" I totally forgot what I was going to say.

"Wasn't today your first day of training with your new team eh?"

"Well yeah, geez Shikamaru keep up," He makes a face like he can't believe I just said that. I cross my arms and smirk at him amused by his face.

"What do you know about hell butterflies?" I ask him. He gives me a weird look. Well of course since it's a random subject to bring up.

"Never heard of it," He says.

I remember that day as if it were yesterday. I had passed out, but I woke up and the sky was darker. I could tell hours had gone by. So how come I survived the massacre? Then I remember that same butterfly flutter over me as I laid there. Did it save me? If so why? After it tried to kill me in the first place. What was the point of that? Then today it came again. It must have been the same exact one since I came to me. And how did it know where to find me?

"I saw one today," I add. "It's almost as if it was trying to tell me something." He gives me another weird look then just sighs. After a bit of reminiscing he leaves home and I start to head to my own as well. I get the feeling like I'm being followed again, but act like I don't notice. It's the same thing that's been following me for a while.

"You can come out now," I look around and the butterfly appears again. It must want something if it's constantly following me. I start to walk home again with it behind me. When I wake up the next morning the butterfly is gone. I get ready for another day of training and right away notice my hands still hurt. As usual I meet at the same place, but this time Neji is there so I'm not the first one today.

"So I guess I wasn't first today," I say with a smile. I wonder what's in store for today. Neji just gives me a look like he didn't hear what I said or he just doesn't care. Ever since he saw that my chakra is green and different he's been being weirder than usual. Then again I don't really know him.

"Sorry I'm late guys!" Lee shouts as he comes from behind us. Neji makes a remark and Lee threatens to fight him. Neji punches his face and Lee falls back not dodging it well enough.

"Lee..." I think to myself. Why is he doing this? He sees Neji as a rival which means this team is going to get complicated.

"Can we just start training now?" I ask them trying to ease the tension and get a good subject change. Lee brushes himself and tries to stand up. Neji walks off to the other side with his arms crossed. I didn't notice Guy-sensei was here, and saw that. He tells Neji and I to train and he walks off with Lee to talk. I get another cut on my other cheek and Neji turns around and sees as the blood runs down. It's the butterfly again.

"Stop doing that!" I yell at it.

"Fine you want to fight then bring it on!" I take out my sword and begin to train with my new friend. Neji goes somewhere else and begins too. After a few minutes Lee and Guy-sensei return. Lee laughs at my little show and says I'm crazy chasing after a butterfly. It flies by his cheek and leaves a cut.

"Ah! That was so fast!" He exclaims. I told him he shouldn't underestimate it. After all it's not a regular butterfly. I'm sure this same butterfly who injected the venom also drew it out. I don't understand it all yet, but I'm hoping to find the answer.

"Well there is a test coming soon called the Chuunin exam," Explains Guy-sensei. "I've decided that you guys will wait a year to take it."

"Why is that?" asks Neji. He then tells us that we will have gained more experience and actually learn to work as a team to have a better chance of passing. He then does a thumbs up and shiny smile and tells us that's enough for the day. By next year I'll be much stronger. Then I'm going to find Kento and avenge my family. Guy then adds we have our first mission tomorrow and to prepare for it.

"Our first mission how exciting!" Lee shouts back to his energetic self.

"Uh yeah I guess," I sigh. In a year the others will be rookies, and maybe I'll get to fight one of them. Maybe someone like Shikamaru…or even Hinata. Well I guess we will have to wait and see now won't we? I start to walk home, but turn back around when I hear Neji's voice.

"Wait," He says softly. He asks if I want to help him train and in return he will help me train. This would definitely benefit me since Neji is so strong so I agree. Lee gives him an annoyed look and walks off with Guy-sensei. "Chuunin exams here I come!" I think to myself.


	4. Chapter 4 The Chuunin Exams Part 1

The wind feels very relaxing today, so soothing. I brace myself on the branch as the wind rustles my hair and the leaves, sending tingles on my skin.

"Yamouri! We're supposed to be training!" Lee shouts. My peace of mind is interrupted by an annoying voice underneath me.

"I know! Geez," I tell him. I've been training way to long now. I forgot what else there is to life besides it. Well it is for a purpose and all, but seriously sometimes I wish I could just fall asleep in a tree for a day. The Chuunin Exams are coming and Guy-sensei said he would recommend us and all, but I don't know if we're actually going to take it this time around. I hope so though. The rookies have recently graduated though, but there's no way they would take it now. I mean since we had to wait a year, so shouldn't they?

"Oh! What time is it Lee?" I ask Lee who looks very different now since Guy-sensei became his idol. He wears the same weird green jumpsuit also.

"Ah, I think it's four," he replies. I sigh realizing it's only been two hours.

"Yamouri, can you give me a hand?" Neji asks interrupting my train of thought. Yes we get along now sort…well sort of.

"Sure," I reply.

~.::.::.::.::.::. ~ 6 days later ~.::.::.::.::.::. ~

So its official the Chuunin exams begin tomorrow and Guy-sensei has already recommended us. We received our applications about five days ago and we've been waiting ever since. Chuunin Exams hold participants from, not just one village, but any village with a ninja can qualify to enter. They are held in different villages each time, and because of convenience purposes, usually end up with mostly ninjas from the village hosting the Chuunin Exams. I've been seeing new faces every day, because of it. I throw some knives at a target, and Lee takes them out to gather them for another round.

Twice every year, this test is held. This is the exam you must pass if you are to become a middle ninja. It's a 3 part test, and held for lower ninjas from any village. If you wish to enter you must have completed a minimum of 8 missions, and given the "Ok" from your instructor.

"Hey have you heard?" Lee asks. "This upcoming Chuunin exam will have rookies for the first time in five years."

"What? No way. The Jounin must be trying to look good." I add. Thinking of my past friends having to go in. No fair that they didn't have to wait, but better for us because we'll have an advantage.

"I heard that three of them are from Kakashi's unit." Lee adds.

"That's interesting, "Neji adds.

"Either way..." I throw my shuriken at a target above Neji's head.

"It's pitiful for them, "He adds. I was going to say dangerous, but I heard the Chuunin exams are no joke, with their level this could get risky.

~.::.::.::.::.::. ~ The next day~.::.::.::.::.::.~

We go to the place we were told to go. We are supposed to go to room 301. When we arrive there, two men are blocking the door and a crowd is around. Lee tries to go through and gets punched in the face and flies back to where Neji and I are standing.

"You're trying to take the Chuunin exam with that level?" He smirks.

"Maybe you should quit, kids," the other one adds. "You're still just kids."

"Please let us through," I add. He punches me in the face and I land right next to Lee. Someone in the crowd says "How cruel."

"What did you say? Listen up; we're being kind to you. The Chuunin exam is extremely difficult."

"We have seen those who gave up on becoming a ninja, or become seriously injured taking this exam." The other one adds. "A Chuunin is a commander of a squad. It's the commander's responsibility for failing any missions, and death of their subordinates. And to think these kids are trying to..." He pauses.

"What's wrong with sitting out those who aren't going to pass anyway?" He finishes and then three people come in front of us and try to pass. One of them is that Naruto boy. The one in the middle in blue says he is going to undo the illusion technique. A guy behind me asks another what he is talking about. The guy blocking the door tells him it's not good enough and gets ready to charge. Suddenly Lee goes and stops them from kicking each other. With his bare hands. Neji and I step forward towards him while Sasuke stands there shocked.

"Hey you broke the promise," Neji tells him. "You're the one that didn't want to gather attention by doing something that stands out."

"But..." Lee replies. And his face turns red as he turns toward the pink haired girl, Sakura.

"She must be why..." I shake my head. Lee walks over to her and introduces himself. He asks her out and tells her he will protect her until she dies. I try really hard not to burst out laughing. Neji nudges me as he sees me struggle a bit to hold it. Sakura looks like she is going to vomit.

"Aww poor Lee, Sakura rejected him," I think to myself. Neji and I walk over to Sasuke.

"Hey, you there," Neji says. Sasuke turns around towards us. He looks different than I last saw him, much more of a colder expression.

"Identify yourself," Neji states.

"You're supposed to identify yourself before you ask." He replies.

"You're a rookie though aren't you?" Neji asks. "How old are you?"

"I'm not obligated to answer that," he responds.

"What?" Neji gets a bit angry.

"He's funny," I think to myself. Sasuke just glances over at me and turns around. I wonder if he remembers me. Or he could be a typical guy underestimating a girl, if I fight him I'll show him what girls can do. Sakura pulls her two team members away. And Neji stands there starring at Sasuke; it's more like a glare.

"Does he interest you?" I ask him. He smirks. We start to head to the third floor and I notice Lee stays behind.

"Lee let's go. What are you doing?" I ask him. He tells us to go ahead because he needs to check out something and starts to go the opposite direction.

"W-whaat was that about?" I ask Neji.

"How should I know?" He replies. We start to head towards the third floor and I notice a guy staring at me. He looks kind of familiar. Neji notices I stopped walking.

"What are you doing?" He asks me.

"Oh sorry," I walk ahead of him. Neji turns to where the guy was staring at me, but he's already gone.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

Lee has caught up with us. We enter room 301 and as soon as we enter I see some of the rookies, and lots of unfriendly faces.

"You to huh?" a familiar voice says.

"Shikamaru...?" I reply. It's been a long time since we last hung out. I knew rookies were being entered, but it didn't even cross my mind he would be here.

"Nice to see you again, rookie," I add with a grin on my face. He just smirks. He complains that he doesn't really want to take this stupid test. Well of course he wouldn't want to.

"Are you forgetting you're a rookie yourself," adds Kiba. Him too huh? Even Hinata! I notice Hinata look over at me and then sees Neji and averts her eyes.

Naruto and his team walk in. Neji and Lee take a seat and leave me standing next to Hinata. Suddenly Ino jumps poor Sasuke and then Sakura and her begin fighting over him again. I sure don't miss that. Naruto then makes a remark calling Shikamaru and his team the idiot trio. I start laughing and ask Choji if I can have one of his chips. He gives me a glare and lets me have only one. I go and take my seat with Neji and Lee and just watch the rookies make a scene at the front of the room. A man with glasses goes towards them and they just realize everybody is starring at them. Some people are even starring at my team, simply because we were talking to them briefly.

"How long do you think the test is?" Lee asks.

"It might be really long, I don't know," I notice some guys from another village looking over at us and then at me. I feel a shiver down my spine.

"Eww..." I whisper. Suddenly Lee puts his arm around me.

"What the..?" I say annoyed.

"Maybe if they think you have a boyfriend they'll stop starring at you, "Lee says with a grin. I yank his arm off.

"Do that again and I'll break your arm!" I add. Neji smirks and Lee looks scared.

"Looks like they're being lectured in the front," Lee points to the rookies all in a crowd looking at the guy shuffle some cards.

"I wonder what that's about," I add. Suddenly Naruto starts to yell really loud.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I won't lose to you! You got that!" He yells pointing at everyone. Which is about the stupidest thing to do because he just pissed off the whole room.

"Is he stupid?" I say.

"He's very spirited," Neji adds.

"He's burning," Lee says.

"I guess you didn't beat him down enough, Lee," Neji replies I give them a puzzled look. Some ninja from the hidden sound village attacks the man talking to the rookies in glasses. The attack missed, but his glasses still broke and now he's throwing up.

"Lee how about that attack?" Neji asks.

"No problem seeing the speed, there must be some trick," he adds. Then smoke appears at the front of the room and man and several instructors appear.

"Thanks for waiting," he introduces himself as the first examiner for the first part of the test. He begins yelling at the hidden sound village ninjas. Serves them right for trying to cause more problems.

"There will be no fighting unless you have the permission of the instructor, "he tells everyone. He then says that if somebody doesn't obey his order they will immediately fail.

"We will now start the first test of the Chuunin Exam. Bring up your application, pick one of these tabs, and sit in the seat assigned to you," he holds up the number one," We will then hand out the exam problems." I take a seat next to a stranger.

"What? A paper test?" I think to myself. Naruto starts to freak out, but in front of everyone.

"This test consists of a 10 question paper, which participants are given 1 hour to complete. Each participant starts out with a total of 10 points, and for each question you get wrong you lose one of those 10 points. If you ever reach 0 points you and the rest of your team will instantly be disqualified. While the exam takes place several middle ninjas watch over the participants. Their job is to look for anyone who is cheating, and kick out anyone who reaches a score of 0. When they see someone who is cheating they penalize them for 2 points," says the instructor. I look down at my paper.

"Oh boy..." I whisper. He then tells us that the final question will be given at the 45-minute mark.

"Begin!" He shouts. My nerves immediately kick in as I start to chew my pencil. He said not to get caught cheating so maybe he meant do it in a way that isn't pathetic enough to get caught. So then this is a test of our skills to gather information! I begin to look around the room and then at the officers. I've attached invisible string to mirrors on the roof and use them to get answers from Shino. Once I've written them down I slide them over so when Lee looks up he can see my paper through the mirrors and I write a message to him also.

"Lee, if you see it, put on your head protector," I write. I look up and wait for it. Lee slowly puts it on.

"Good job Lee!" I look over at the other people and some look like they're struggling. Suddenly one of the officers at the front throws a knife over to someone testing. He jumps up. He's been caught and his two teammates have to leave with him. The nerves start to kick in for real now.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

Slowly the room starts to empty out as one after the other are failing by being caught. It's almost time for the 45-minute mark.

"Looks like we've already dropped the incompetent ones," says the head examiner." I will now give the last problem, since 45 minutes have already passed, okay; I will now give the tenth question!" He shouts.

"But before this there is one thing I must say. There will be one special rule for this last question," he pauses and talks to a boy walking in."I will now explain a hopeless rule. First, you are all going to choose if you wish to take this tenth problem or not."

"What? Why?" I think to myself.

"If you choose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero, in other word you will fail. Your two other teammates will fail along with you, "says the examiner. Lee looks back at me.

"And there is the other rule. If you choose to take it and get it wrong, you will lose the privilege to take the Chuunin Exam forever!" He shouts.

"What? This can't be if that's true and I fail then..." I whisper.

"That is why I gave you the option of quitting. Those who are not confident can choose to not take it, and take the exam next year, or the year after that," he continues. "Let's begin, those who will not be taking this tenth question, raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, we will have you leave."

People start to raise their hands. I know I don't want to and I'm sure Lee and Neji won't either, but if I fail then I'll never get the chance again. This is giving me a headache. The person next to me raises his hand. The pressure is on and then Naruto raises his hand and gives an inspirational speech. He just gave everyone hope to take on this problem.

"I will ask one more time; this is the choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit now is the chance." No one else raises their hand. Although more than half the people are gone.

"Nice determination. Then, for the first exam...everyone here...Passes!" He says. He then says there was never a tenth question. Or we could call the two choice questions he gave us the tenth question. The purpose of the test was to test our information gathering skills. We were meant to work as a team and we were meant to cheat. He takes off his head band exposing his head with burnt marks, cuts, and screw holes, all signs of torture.

I'm so glad the first part of the test is over, because I have a major headache. Suddenly something breaks through the window and a cloud of smoke appears.

"What the..?" A girl comes out of it.

"Everybody, there's no time to be happy. I am the second examiner, Anko Mitarashi is here. Let's go to the next exam!" She shouts. "Follow me!"

I already don't like her because she's loud and obnoxious like Naruto.

"I'm going to make more than half of the teams fail in the next exam. I will explain the details tomorrow. We will go somewhere else, so ask your Jounin teachers about the rally point and time. That is all. Dismissed," Anko says.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ The next day~.::.::.::.::.::.~

We arrive at a place that's completely fenced. On the main gate is a sign that says forbidden area. I take a big sigh seeing its enormous size.

"This doesn't look easy," I tell Neji and Lee. They just nod.

"This is where the second exam will take place," explains Anko. "The 44th training area... Also known as the Forest of Death..."

I get a shiver down my spine. That is a very interesting name. The place looks very unfriendly. I'm sure it's full of poisonous plant life and vicious animals. Anko yells we are going to have a ten minute break now. She also says if we are asked questions to cooperate quietly.

"I'm so tired," I sigh. Lee slaps my back.

"You have to be awake and alert Yamouri," Lee tells me. I give him a death glare, "I could barely sleep last night though."

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ Ten minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Second exam is about to start! Everyone around us is an enemy! "Anko yells, "You will be able to experience why this place is called, The Forest of Death."

"Before we begin the exam, I'm going to pass these out to everyone, "Anko pulls out papers. These are consent forms. Those taking this exam will sign these." Naruto asks why and Anko says people will die. Making me get a knot in my stomach. "Therefore we need people's consent before we continue. Otherwise I'd be held responsible, "she laughs and begins passing out the consent forms. But it wasn't even funny…

Anko continues that this is an extreme survival match. Each team is given one of two scrolls. A heaven or an earth, objective is to try to obtain the scroll you don't have, and reach a tower which is located in the middle of the forest. There are 44 locked gates which circle around the forest of death, in which the participants simultaneously use to enter the forest. There is a river, a forest, and a tower in the middle. Each scroll is given out in secret so other teams won't know which teams have which scrolls, and which person is carrying the scroll in each team. You lose if anyone on your team is killed, tries to open the scroll, or doesn't make it to the tower with both scrolls.

"You are not allowed to open the scrolls," she says. "Anything goes to get these scrolls." We are supposed to trade three consent forms for a scroll in a hut. Neji gets our scroll and tells us our gate is number 41.

"Guy-sensei, I will do my best! I will get through this!" Shouts Lee. Neji smirks.

"You know he can't hear you, right?" I ask. He gives me a glare. The time is ticking; it's almost time to begin. I feel my heart racing and my stomach flutter.

"Give me the strength I need, Kyho," I smile and look up at the sky. Suddenly the man standing at our gate opens it and we begin.

To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5 The Chuunin Exams Part 2

We all rush in anxious to finally start. Lee is in front leaving me and Neji behind.

"Don't get so hasty Lee," Neji says. Lee looks back with a big smile on his face.

"I know, but I can't help but get excited thinking of all the strong opponents that await us," he replies and tries to speed up even more. Neji and I speed up too. We begin to hear loud screams and I turn towards the direction it came from. So it has begun.

"Did you guys hear that?" I ask them.

"Seems like it has officially begun," adds Neji. I just want to get this over with, but I decide to keep that inside. It's not like I'm scared or anything.

"Can you slow down Lee?" I ask already feeling out of breathe.

"Come on Yamouri! This is a great way to test our abilities," he adds. He does have a point. Suddenly Neji stops on a tree making Lee and I stop too.

"Why'd we stop?" I ask.

"I think we should split up for a bit and try and gather all the food we can get. Then we can meet by here and go to the river that's supposed to be in the middle of this forest," Neji explains.

Lee and I nod and we all go our separate ways. I hear another scream which startles me. I start to feel a bit hesitant, but continue going. And start to wonder what kind of things to eat could be here. I start to speed up a bit, but still staying aware of my surroundings.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I hear another scream and realize it's nearby this time. It's a girl screaming for help. I position myself right above and see 3 ninjas from a different village standing by a girl and her too fallen comrades. She's holding a scroll and her comrades seem to be dead.

"Give us the scroll!" They yell at her making her tremble as she holds onto the scroll. She looks like she's been beaten up pretty badly. She tries to stand up, but one of the ninja pushes her down, showing that she's apparently really weak. I start to leave, but the girl starts yelling for help again like if she knows I'm there. I can't help but want to help her, but at the same time it could be a trap. I see the three ninja start to make an attack.

"This should be easy! All girls are weak and pathetic!" One of them shouts. As he says that phrase I automatically respond and use my invisible jutsu. I kill one in the back and the others turn toward their fallen comrade, a gush of blood coming from his stomach as he falls down. I got a good look at his face, one eye was blue the other brown and he had a scar across his nose.

"What the?" They shout. I appear in front of them and they look shocked.

"Where did you come from!" One says as the other starts to run towards me.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you just did!" He yells as I prepare for my attack. I make a thunder cloud then use my favorite attack.

"Lightning style, thunder up jutsu!" I yell as I collect a lot of lightning chakra in my hand and press it together into a round ball. I release it at once, causing an explosion and have time to move the girl. A lot of trees collapse and then a big cloud of smoke covers the whole area.

"Well that wasn't a very long fight," I say. The girl looks at me in a creepy way. I hold back the urge to slap her.

"What are you starring at?" I ask and she turns away. I notice she has the same scroll my team has so it was a big waste of my time. I walk over to the fallen ninja and see they have the same one also.

"Idiots, they didn't even notice they had the same exact one," I say softly and start to walk away. The girl falls to the ground. For no apparent reason, probably from exhaustion or just fainting from the recent events

~.::.::.::.::.::.~A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"I can't believe I haven't even found any berries in here!" I think to myself as I continue looking around. This is getting very tiring I pause to look down at my bruised hands. I wonder why it takes so long for them to heal. I look down from the tree I'm in and see an open place, and decide to land. I look around, but don't see any food. Then I hear rustling sounds in the bushes.

"Whose there!" I shout. Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji appear clumsily. I blink twice before slightly laughing at them.

"Oh it's just you guys," I sigh. "Are you guys going to hide the whole time you're here?" I ask.

"No!" Shikamaru says nervously. I start to giggle at him for trying to be serious.

"How do you plan on getting a scroll if you guys are making forts in random bushes?" I ask sarcastically and Shikamaru puts his hand on his forehead as he shakes it and sighs. Ino gives me an annoyed look and Choji is just eating his chips.

"Well I got to get going, it was nice seeing you guys," I say and start to walk off.

"Wait!" Shikamaru says. I turn towards them again.

"Aren't you going to try and take our scroll?" He asks. I start to laugh again.

"That be too easy! I like a challenge," I say with a smile and start to leave again.

"Why I ought to….!" Ino starts to say, but I turn around and give her a death glare asking her what she'd do to me and she stays quiet. Shikamaru looks worried if I'm going to pounce at Ino any moment, but I disappear to finish the task I was assigned.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~An hour later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I'm about ready to give up. I've been searching forever and can't find anything, but then again I keep getting distracted at the smallest things and it also seems like someone is following me.

"I'd rather be home sleeping," I think to myself. The past few weeks I've been training a lot and barely sleeping on some nights and others I don't even get an hour of sleep. I guess you can say I'm extremely exhausted, but I have to look like I'm ready for anything. Suddenly I trip on some kind of string that I didn't even see till now and begin to fall down off the tree. The string must have activated the other traps because a net full of kunai knives start to shoot towards me. I make my lightning based defense barrier around me just in time as the kunais start to hit it. I fall to the ground hands first and a pain shoots through them and all the way up to my shoulders. Another string somehow attached to my feet and I'm suddenly sprung upside down and hanging. I begin to look around and take out a kunai knife from my pouch.

"Well, well, Katajo looks like we caught one after all," Says a voice coming from the woods he appears and it's the same guy that was staring at me before.

"We got lucky, she's gorgeous," he says with a smirk. Two other ninjas come out of the woods as well. I notice one of them is wearing a headband and I take a long look at the sign, but the words are having trouble coming out.

"You guys are from the cloud village?" I finally stutter. They examine my face and don't reply to my question.

"Why should you care?" The head one asks. The other one comes and circles around me.

"Come any closer and I'll cut your hands off," I threaten him and he punches my side really hard making me start to choke out some blood.

"Any moment I could slice your throat, so do you really think this is the time to disrespect me?" He asks. His face is right in front of mine then he starts to look through my pouch and finds the pocket knife that belonged to my dad. The one that can turn into a sword. As he starts to examine it more closely a look of shock appears on his face.

"Katajo?" The other one asks, noticing his comrade's look.

"I knew she looked familiar!" Katajo shouts. "You're a Kesaki." My heart begins to beat faster. How did he know that by just looking at it? I don't say anything instead I stab his shoulder with my kunai and try to cut myself down, but the string won't cut. He then punches me several times until I finally give up dropping the weapon.

"You stupid brat!" That'll teach you!" Katajo shouts as he continues punching until the other one butts in.

"That's enough Katajo she doesn't even have the scroll," he says. He doesn't listen and this time kicks my back. He then cuts another string connected to another trap and a bunch of kunais come towards me and stab my legs, making me scream out in pain.

"Don't tell me what to do Taji!" He yells. Then Taji pulls him away for a second and I use, my invisible jutsu and cut myself down finally.

"What the….? Where'd she go!" Katajo yells. They turn around and notice their comrade fall to the ground without a word as blood starts to form a puddle.

"Where the hell are you?" Katajo yells angrily and he begins to do a hand sign. I appear again because my jutsu doesn't last long.

"Lightning style, earth flash!" He yells. He creates a wave of electricity from his hands and the ground underneath me begins to rumble as the surge of electricity makes its way towards me. I quickly start to do my hand signs for my barrier special, but Taji attacks me from behind and kicks the back of my head and I fall forward on my knees as the surge is only a few seconds away.

"It's too late!" I think to myself. Suddenly some type of sand covers me as the wave makes impact.

"What is this?" I gasp. I feel the ground underneath me vibrate intensely and a few minutes later the sand disperses. I look around and see a boy with red hair coming from the woods. He has black circles around his eye and his arms are crossed, he also has a big gourd on his back and I notice the sand go back in it. Did he just save me? I don't remember seeing him before.

"How dare you interfere you stupid brat!" yells Katajo. He begins to make the same hand signs again, but the red head boy just stands there and then sand covers Katajo's body leaving only his head exposed.

"You sicken me," says the red head boy and he squeezes his fist and Katajo makes a loud yell like he's in agonizing pain and then blood splatters everywhere along with his sand.

"What was that?" I think to myself. He looks over at me and a shiver goes down my spine, it seems like forever as he just stares right into my eyes. It's almost as if he can see right into me.

"Katajo!" Taji screams. "You monster!" Taji says as he runs towards the red head boy, he takes a kunai and throws it at him, but the sand blocks the attack and he didn't even lift a finger. Taji then throws ten more towards me and his sand makes a shield in front of me. Then he stands in front and does the same to Taji as he did to Katajo. I sit there trembling because it all happened so fast I barely had time to react.

"What's wrong with me?" I think to myself. And I notice the red haired boy start to walk away.

"Wait!" I shout. Then his two teammates appear a blonde haired girl and a boy in a cat suit.

"We finally found you Gaara!" Says the boy in the cat suit. The red head boy turns towards them and doesn't say a word.

"What is your name?" He asks. His two teammates look over at me. I guess they didn't notice all the destruction around here. He turns towards me again as they all stare at me with a serious look.

"Yamouri….Kesaki" I stutter. He then turns around and walks off as his two teammates stay behind and then realize he just left ahead and go after him. I sit there for a while trying to comprehend all that just happened and then notice the sun is starting to set. I need to go meet up with Neji and Lee. I start to head in the direction of the place Neji told us to meet, but my legs ache and so does my head and sides. At this rate it'll take me a little extra time to get there.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~An hour later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I finally arrive and see Neji leaning on a tree with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

"You're late," he says. Then he opens his eyes and sees why, as I start to collapse he catches me and puts my arm around his shoulders.

"What happened?" He asks.

"I couldn't find any food," I tell him. Though that's not what he was asking, but I'd rather just focus on something else. Then Lee comes too.

"Yamouri!" He asks what happened. I notice his back pack full of something, assuming he must have found a jackpot.

"Oh, I just fell is all," I smile at him. And then Neji says we should start making our way to the river. Lee puts my other arm around his shoulders and the three of us head there. I notice now both their backpacks are full, and then there's mine, skinny.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~An hour later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

We finally made it. It looks peaceful here for a forest that's named after death. Neji and Lee set me down by a rock as I begin to put medicine on my wounds and wash them with water. Lee gives me some food he found and I try and rebuild my energy. It's really dark here. Another hour went by and I can already walk by my own, but it's best if I don't push it. I start to get sleepy, but Neji says we need to discuss the plans for tomorrow. I stand myself up and start to look around and notice a field of something that looks like mushrooms. I walk over there and get a closer look.

"There's so many of them!" I shout and Lee hears me and comes over to see what I'm talking about. They look so rare, they have red polka dots.

"I wonder if they're edible," says Lee. I look over and see a squirrel sitting by a tree in front of the mushroom field. I walk over to it and pick it up.

"Why don't we test it?" I say cheerfully and force a piece of mushroom down its throat.

"Sorry Mr. Squirrel," I mumble.

"Yamouri!" Lee shouts! "We both just sit there and wait and the squirrel starts to run in circles around a mushroom. He continues to do this for about five minutes and then he bumps into it and starts to roll on the ground and then takes another bite and runs off into the woods.

"Well that looked safe too me!" I exclaim and take a piece in my hand.

"I don't think they're safe Yamouri," Lee adds. As he watches me about to take a bite.

"You saw the squirrel! It looks like he is doing just fine!" I exclaim. We look over and see it hitting a tree with his head. I take a bite and a delicious flavor takes over my mouth and my senses start tingling.

"This tastes so good!" I blurt out and eat maybe two or three of them; I don't know I lost count.

"You guys quit fooling around!" Neji says in a stern voice.

"You should try some Neji!" I shout and offer him one.

"No, put that down," he orders. I offer him it again and he looks the other way. I don't know what came over me, but I stuff the mushroom in his mouth and put my hand on his mouth and he almost swallows it, but then spits it out. I stand there trying really hard not to burst out laughing, but then collapse on the floor and the laughter just blurts out Lee and Neji stand there shocked just watching me roll on the floor.

When I finally stop laughing Neji's face looks purple and swollen and Lees is a watermelon

"What did you guys do to your faces?' I ask and burst out laughing again.

"Cut it out!" Neji says sternly. I throw a mushroom at his face and continue to roll on the ground.

"What did that mushroom do?" Asks Lee. I jump into the river and decide to take a swim because it suddenly feels warm outside.

"Yamouri quit fooling around!" Neji yells. I get out of the water and run towards him and he just looks shocked and doesn't know what to do. I trip on a log and roll towards Neji and Lee.

"Yamouri what has gotten into you?" Lee asks. I stand up and lean on Neji and get him soaked.

"Stop it Yamouri," Neji says as he takes my hands off his shoulders then I run around for a bit and go back to the mushroom field.

"Put those down!" Neji yells. I eat two more and lay back as the world turns colors. Lee pours a cup of water over my face.

"Stop!" I yell and then Lee starts to examine a mushroom himself.

"Don't think about it, "Neji says. Lee puts it down. They look over and see me in a tree.

"Look guys! I'm a birdie!" I start to flap my arms and begin falling out of the tree.

"Yamouri!" Neji yells and catches me as I fall.

"That was so much fun you guys!" I shout.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~An hour later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

The effects of the mushroom are finally starting to wear out.

"What happened?" I ask while holding my head having a really nasty headache.

"I don't want to talk about it," Neji says and turns his head the other way. Lee smiles and looks like he is trying to hold back laughter.

"Just don't eat any more of those mushrooms," He adds. Guessing by how they are acting the mushroom must have had a funny effect on me. Maybe hallucinations?

"I think this is a good time for our plan, since everyone should be sleeping at this time," Neji says as he drinks his water. Lee and I listen up.

"We'll meet back here in a few hours, but don't do anything too risky by yourself," he says as he throws a kunai knife on the ground to mark our spot.

"Alright, go!" He shouts and they leave in a flash, but I take my backpack and fill it up real full with those mushrooms and then take off.

So I'm supposed to find people that have the scroll we're looking for then come back and tell Neji and Lee. Since I failed the food mission this is my chance to shine and show them that I am capable of a little task.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~A few hours later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I arrive and see Neji is already there. Unfortunately I didn't find anybody. The good thing is Neji didn't either so it's up too Lee. We wait and wait, but he never shows up.

"Could he have run in with the enemy?" I ask Neji. He shakes his head.

"It's not like Lee to do something so reckless," he adds. As we continue waiting we come to the conclusion something isn't right here.

"Yamouri, let's go look for Lee," he says.

"Right!" The both of us take off. I'm glad he didn't notice my backpack looks unusually lumpy.

"I hope Lee is ok," I think to myself. I don't want to lose someone else. Not now. I think back to when I first met Lee. How kind he was and when he shook my hand and wouldn't let go. My thoughts are interrupted my Neji.

"I think I've found him!" Neji says as he is using his byakugan. He tells me there are more people and then he starts to speed up a bit.

"I can't go any faster I feel so weak right now," I think to myself and try to keep up with Neji.

"We're almost there," he says.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

We arrive and see the 3 sound ninja from before, along with Shikamaru's team and Sakura's team. Most of them are on the ground and I see Lee lying over there all beaten up. The head sound ninja gives a little speech about how weak they are and says our village is second rate.

"Huh! That's pretty tough talk!" Neji yells. And they all look up at us. "I guess that makes you're village third rate! I wonder if any of you amateurs are ready to take on the real thing!"

They look like they just got excited, but they don't know how Neji is.

"Lee!" I shout. It looks like he's unconscious.

"You blew it," Neji adds. "It looks to me like someone used our teammate as a punching bag. No one does that and gets away with it!" He yells and his byakugan appears on his face.

"No more playing around, Yamouri, time to go full power!" he shouts. And I position myself for battle. I see Neji stands back and a look of shock comes on his face.

"What's the matter? Neji?" I ask but he keeps staring at something. I look down and that's when I notice it myself.

"Well are you going to stay up there all day? Or are you going to come down here and do something about it?" The head sound ninja asks.

"Actually it looks like it might have been taken out of my hands," Neji adds. We all stare at Sasuke. Some sort of purple chakra is flowing out of him. He starts to sit up and the flow gets even bigger. It becomes like a huge aura around him. He has some kind of marks that start to appear all over his body. He begins to ask Sakura who beat her up.

"What happened to him?" I whisper to myself. Even Neji isn't sure what's going on. He looks so strong it's kind of intimidating to see. Looks like he is going to attack the guy who admitted he hurt Sakura. I notice Shikamaru and his team gets out of the way and go back to the bushes. The sound ninja uses some kind of sound attack and makes some sort of strong wind come out of his hands that hurt your ears. I hold on to the tree as it comes towards us and we try really hard not to fly back. I gasp really loud then we see Sasuke is right behind him and with one hand he pushes him really far.

"He had time to move Naruto and Sakura out of the way in just the blink of an eye!" I think to myself as I look over to Neji. Sasuke then uses fire jutsu and makes balls of fire go towards the sound ninja. There where shuriken in the flames and the sound ninja gets cut up. Then in a flash Sasuke appears behind him and takes a hold on his arm and puts his foot on his back and starts to pull his arm out of his sockets as he screams in agonizing pain.

"I had no idea that Sasuke was this strong," I tell Neji and he doesn't say a word. He's taking his time ripping his arms or at least trying, but I feel a shiver go down my spine as I try to look away, but my eyes are glued to the horrid sight. Then Sasuke throws him forward and turns to the other sound ninja. He starts to walk over to him slowly, but the sound ninja are still with fear. Then Sakura yells and runs towards him and hugs him to stop. The sound ninja gives them their scroll and takes his two teammates and leaves. Sakura yells something about a guy named Orochimaru that gave Sasuke a curse mark.

"A curse mark?" I ask out loud. Shikamaru and Choji run towards Naruto and he wakes up because Choji hits his head with a stick. Naruto notices Sakura's hair is short now.

"Lee!" I shout and I go down to where Ino is.

"I'll take care of him now, Ino," I tell her and she hands him over. I start to shake him vigorously.

"Come one Lee! Pull it together! Snap out of it alright!" I yell. Lee falls on his knees.

"Yamouri is that you?" He asks. He looks up at me and his eye looks swollen. "What are you doing here?"

I get on my knee, "I came to help you out, what do you think?"

"Whaaat? Where are those sound ninja guys?" He asks.

"Sasuke took care of them, don't worry about it Lee," I tell him.

"Really?" He asks.

"Just what were you thinking rushing in there all by yourself? Look at you you're a total mess!" I add annoyed.

"Well Sakura was in trouble, so I had to do something right?" He asks clumsily.

"I can't believe Lee would do that, he knows he didn't stand a chance against those three, so why?" I think to myself.

"That was pretty darn stupid don't you think?" I ask.

"Well I guess I can't really argue with that," he says. Naruto comes up to us and starts pointing at Lee calling him bushy brows. Then Sakura comes and defends Lee and punches Naruto's face. I start to giggle at silly Naruto. Then Sakura tells Lee thanks for trying to save her. Lee starts to cry and blushes at the same time.

"I guess my efforts enough were not good enough," he whines. Lee then says something really sweet to Sakura while Sasuke looks around. Shikamaru comes over and kicks my foot.

"Hey what was that for!" I ask annoyed and he grins.

"Well at least you finally came out of your bush!" I say sarcastically and he just pouts.

"We weren't in there the whole time you know?" He says. I roll my eyes at him then he bends down.

"Whatcha got in the backpack?" He asks curiously. I slightly blush remembering I got a whole stash full of mushrooms in there and Lee and Neji can't find out.

"Uh …stuff," I say nervously. Neji comes down to where I am and takes Lee's arm and puts it on his shoulder while I take the other and we start to leave.

"See you guys later," I say and we take off.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~A few days later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

So we've finally got our other scroll and now we're heading towards the tower. Our plan worked quite easily actually. Neji and Lee used me as bait and some idiot ninja group fell for it and Neji and Lee took care of them.

"I wonder what the third part of the test is going to be like," I tell Neji and Lee. I can start to see the tower as we get closer and closer. I wonder how many teams made it.


	6. Chapter 6 Part 3, Epic Showdowns

We are one of the first groups to arrive right away noticing there are only 6 other teams sitting around waiting. We made it here safely though so I guess waiting won't be so bad as long as no one as major injury. Well Lee's still pretty messed up and so am I, but at least Neji isn't. We did manage to get here early regardless of the obstacles we faced that slowed us down.

"Are we supposed to hang out here until the five days are up?" I ask Neji.

"How am I supposed to know?" He replies.

"Well I'm super exhausted," I add and flop to the floor and start to rub my legs because they are unbelievably sore. Suddenly we hear a door open and then a team walks in from a different room and I look up and freeze.

"It's that red haired boy and his team!" I think to myself as I remember the whole incident. He looks around and then his eyes lock on me for a second and he looks the other way. He has the same expression all the time and his arms are always crossed. I think if I remember correctly his name is Gaara.

"Yamouri?" Lee asks interrupting my flow of thoughts.

"Huh what is it?" I ask.

"Oh I just noticed you got distracted," He adds. I hadn't noticed I had zoned out for a bit. Kind of sucks because we finally made it and we have to wait longer for other teams to arrive, that's if other teams show up. Neji says it's a good thing though because at least we have an extra day to regain our strength, after all we have no idea what the third test is going to bring. I start to wonder what the third test might be. Lee takes a seat next to me and I shrug off my thoughts knowing I will just have to wait.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~The next day ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

More teams have arrived I notice Shikamaru's team is one of them and walk over to them to tease them some more. Of course they all look extremely exhausted, but who doesn't?

"So you guys made it eh?" I ask.

"Well it wasn't easy, but I guess we did," Shikamaru adds. He asks when we got here and after I tell him he adds that it's no shocker my team got here so early. I look around and see Hinata's team is here also and see Kiba talking to some girl with black hair and purple eyes.

"Who's that?" I ask Shikamaru who looks over and sees it too.

"I think her name is Kaira," Shikamaru replies.

"How come I didn't notice her before?" I think to myself. I notice her two teammates a blonde girl and a boy that looks similar to Kento, making me gasp in shock and Shikamaru getting confused.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"Oh… Nothing," I add and start to walk back over to Neji and Lee.

Naruto's team finally walks in meaning. It should be time for the third round to begin. I count how many people there are 21. Only 7 teams are here so all the rest just couldn't cut it I guess. We line up in team lines and wait for the hokage and the others to tell us what's about to go down. Right away I notice guy-sensei talking to a guy with white hair and a mask.

"That must be guy-sensei's rival, if I had to judge them based on looks alone guy-sensei would lose," I think to myself. Lee must be talking to himself because all of a sudden he looks really confident.

"Alright now pay attention! Lord Hokage is going to explain the third exam to you, you better listen carefully maggots!" Yells Anko sounding the same as always. The hokage makes his way forward.

"First before I tell you what the third exam entails, I want to explain something about the test itself. Listen closely now, it's something all of you need to understand. I'm going to tell you the true purpose of these exams. Why do you suppose our countries hold these exams in conjunction with our allies?" He asks. "To raise the ability levels of the shinobi and increase friendship between allied nations to be sure, but it's important that you understand its true meaning is so to speak, they are the representation of the battles between the allied nations."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I ask.

"Now if we look at our history all the countries that we're currently allied with, were once neighboring nations that continually fought with each other for power. In order to avoid destroying each other's military strengths meaninglessly those nations picked champions to do battles on behalf of their countries and a mutually selected location, that was how the Chuunin selection exam originally began," The hokage continues.

"Well that's great and all, but why do we have to go through these exams then? I mean it's not like we're doing this to pick Chuunin to go fight," Naruto says.

"The third part of the exam is a battle for life, with the pride of your village and your own dreams at state." He continues. He talks for about ten minutes. I get the image of Kento in my head and I tighten my fist just wanting to start already. He finally starts to explain the details of the actual exam. A ninja jumps in front of the hokage and asks to speak first.

"It's nice to meet you all," he says while coughing. "There's something I would like all of you to do before the third exam. Well you see, the first two exams might have been too easy, the fact is we never expected so many of you to still be here. According to the rules of the Chuunin exam, a preliminary round can be held at any stage in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining. It's just that at this stage we have to speed things up a bit, as lord hokage said a lot of important people will be watching, we can't afford to waste their time, they've come to see only the best, so if any of you think you're not in top physical condition, now is your chance to…." He starts to cough again sounding even sicker.

"Sorry about that... Anyways like I was saying any of you who don't feel up to this, now is the time for you to bail out, the preliminaries will be starting immediately," he adds.

I was hoping we would have some kind of break, but I guess not. I look around and see teams talking among themselves. Then I look down at my hands and then my legs. My whole body aches, but if I bail out then it'll take longer to get to the level I want to be at. I hear Ino's team starts to complain, like usual and more whispering.

"Oh yeah… the winners will be determined by one on one combat sudden death, so like I said, if there's anyone who doesn't feel up to it, now's the time to raise your hand," he continues. I see Sasuke starting to struggle and Sakura begging him to quit because of some mark. Could it be what was covering his body earlier? Then I see the boy that resembles Kento in a way raise his hand followed by Kabuto raising his hand. The Procter tells him to step back and Naruto fights that he shouldn't. I'm starting to have doubts myself, Naruto makes it seem so easy, but if you're not prepared then why try? Suddenly Sakura who is standing right by me starts to raise her hand, but Sasuke slaps her hand down. He then mentions something that triggers in my head.

"Sasuke called himself an avenger, why?" I think to myself. "Why would he call himself that? Could he have something similar as me?"

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ flashback ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Ken..." His sword pierced me through the chest. All that came out was a weird grunt sound. My face fell in front of his shoulder and I felt his warm breath on the back of my neck as he whispered those words…

"You've always been so weak. How pathetic." And then he pushed the sword even deeper.

"Traitor! Trait...or..."I mumbled losing grip of the sword. Unable to move, feeling helpless, I lied there for what seemed like hours. Kento took his sword back leaving me there in the dark. I awoke in the hospital soon after where I had realized what I was to do. What I was destined to be.

"I promise, your deaths won't be in vein," I whispered to myself. "When I become a shinobi, I will become very strong and I will find you, Kento."

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ End of flashback ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"I can't back out now, I will get stronger! I can't give up! Not now! "I think to myself and tighten my fist.

"Alright then, we'll now begin the preliminary round," says the instructor. "This round will consist of one on one individual combat at full battle intensity. This is not an exercise. There are 20 of you remaining, so that means only 10 matches. The surviving candidates who win these 10 matches will advance to the third exam. As for the rules, there are none. Until one dies, or conceives defeat, or is rendered physically incapable of continuing the contest. Naturally those who are losing are urged to conceive defeat promptly to avoid a fatal outcome, further more as Procter; I'm given a certain amount of ways in judging the matches. I might occasionally intervene if the match seems hopeless. To save as many lives as possible. Now it's time to reveal what fate as chosen for you, the name of your opponent is chosen completely at random. At the beginning of each match the names will be chosen on this panel, let's begin, in a moment the first match will be determined."

The first match is Sasuke and a ninja that was in Kabuto's team. This should be interesting. I've gotten so bored listening to these people talk. The Procter then asks them to come forward and tells the others to go to the upper level to watch. Everyone starts making their way up I walk by Shikamaru and push him out of my way smirking as he makes a face. The round begins is finally about to begin. This is actually kind of exciting, but I hope I don't get called down too soon. Kabuto's teammate makes chakra in his hand and does something to Sasuke while he just lays there. He then grabs Sasuke's head with the same technique followed by Sasuke copying a similar move Lee uses. The curse mark had appeared again covering his body, but it receded and he used his new technique lion's barrage and won the match.

"Last year, Neji was the rookie to beat, this year it's Sasuke Uchiha," I think to myself as I look over at Neji who looks very interested in that Uchiha kid. The second fight is Shino and one of the sound ninja, the one that Sasuke tried to rid of arms. Shino uses his bugs of course, but since bugs disgust me I look away. When I look down, I see millions of them crawling out of his jacket. I squirm some more and see millions of them on the floor start to surround the sound ninja. After a few minutes Shino wins the match. He clogged his opponent's hole in his hand with bugs; which was where the sound ninja's attacks were coming from.

"That was a good fight, if I do say so myself," Lee and Neji look over at me nod then Lee adds that I missed most of it. The third round is the cat suit guy that is in the same team as Gaara who is fighting Kabuto's other teammate.

"His name is Kankuro?" I whisper to myself seeing his name on the panel. I look over at Gaara and see the same expression like he's bored or maybe anxious for his turn. Kankuro's opponent becomes like a worm and wraps his arms and leg around him which is another disgusting sight to see.

"I think he broke his neck!" Lee shouts as we watch the worm guy squeeze him until a crack sound comes out, being the only sound in the room. But then Kankuro turns into a puppet, and attacks him, ending the match and resulting in his victory.

The fourth match is Ino and Sakura which will probably be boring to watch. Everyone knows they fight all the time because of Sasuke, but only with nails. As soon as the proctor tells them they can begin they start off pretty quick, as knives are being thrown everywhere.

"Is that the best they can do? That's the best kunoichi can do in hand to hand combat?" Neji asks. I roll my eyes at him trying not to slap him.

"It's not because they're girls, you know Neji, and it's just that those two are using kid gloves. It doesn't matter if it's a man or woman in battle," I add a bit annoyed that he would make such a stereotype. Ino slaps Sakura across the face. The room seems to go quiet. After a few minutes the match is finally over, but it ended in a tie so neither of them can move on to the third exam. We sit and wait for the fifth match; I wonder who it could be. We watch the panel and it seems to take forever and then finally the names show up. Yamouri Kesaki vs. Temari, I freeze and then start to look around to determine who that is. When I get down I see the blonde haired girl that was in Gaara's team come down which is a bit surprising. So this is Temari.

"After seeing the last battle, Sakura and Ino make all girls look so weak; it's my chance to prove not all girls are like that! I'm so fired up right now!" I say to myself. The girl eyes me from head to toe; I do the same and see she's holding some type of fan thing.

"Go Yamouri! Alright!" Lee cheers. I look up at them and then over to Temari's team. I notice Gaara is watching as well. He must think I'm weak like those other girls because he had to step in and help me. I whisper to myself to get all pumped up.

"Come on Yamouri! Use the power of youth!" Lee shouts and continues to cheer.

"That's right Lee let's hear that support!" Guy sensei shouts even though they are standing right next to each other. "You can do it!"

"Take her down!" They continue shouting.

"Get ready," Says the Procter. We step forward towards each other giving each other an intimidating look.

"So this is the girl Gaara saved?" Temari says to herself. Guy-sensei continues to cheer and even puts his hands in the air and tries to start the wave with Lee, but no one does it.

"Idiots!" I whisper to myself. A smile appears on my face anyways because even though it's annoying it's nice to know I have such a supportive team.

"Begin!" Shouts the Procter. Temari starts to smile and I quickly jump back.

"Alright Yamouri! Keep her guessing!" Lee shouts.

"The power of youth!" Guy-sensei shouts again.

"Send that girl back to her village on a stretcher!" Shouts Lee. "We're right here Yamouri!"

"2, 4, 6, 8 who do we appreciate? Yamouri!" They continue shouting.

"What are you waiting for? I did say you can begin," says the Procter. We've been standing there just staring at each other waiting to see who makes the first move.

"Huh! I guess she's waiting for me to make a move, big mistake, because the first move I make will be the last one you see!" Says Temari and takes one step forward as I take one back.

"It doesn't really matter at this point if I win or lose as long as I show these people what a real girl ninja can do," I tell myself.

"Come on, I don't want this match to end too quickly, so why don't you go first. Come on girl show me what you got!" She shouts. As soon as she finishes her sentence she notices I'm no longer standing in front of her.

"Big mistake!" I yell from behind her and punch her face as she flies to the side.

"Why you little brat!" She yells quickly getting back on her feet and opens her fan. She swipes it once at me, but I use my barrier and block her wind attack.

"Is that the best you can do!" I shout and throw kunai knives at her. In the blink of an eye she blows them away with her stupid fan. I notice a weird design and stare at trying to figure out if those are simply there for decoration or is there more behind them.

"Take a look. This is the first moon, there are two more, when you see all three moons you'll know, you've lost the match," she says like she read my mind. This girl is really starting to get on my nerves. I use my invisible jutsu and start to run towards her with knife in hand.

"Where'd she go?" Shouts Temari angrily and confused. I plan to appear from behind her again, but she starts to move around predicting my moves.

"Does she know where I am?" I think to myself. Regardless of her movements, I punch her several times and she flies forward losing grip of her fan.

"Temari!" Shouts Kankuro. Temari quickly gets up and runs towards her fan before I can get it away. She uses her second moon on her fan, but I dodge it again. She shifts it so the third moon appears and before I can react her wind attack strikes me. I slam into the wall with a gush of blood shoots out of my mouth.

"Yamouri!" Shouts Lee. I fall back on my knees panting and gasping.

"I'm not giving up yet!" I shout and quickly start to do my hand signs. This jutsu takes up a lot of my energy, so I'll have to end this quickly.

"Whatever you're doing, it won't work," says Temari. I take out a scroll and do a summing jutsu for a thunder cloud in order to get extra lightning chakra then I use my favorite technique.

"Lightning style, Thunder up!" I shout as I make my lightning ball and the cloud start to fog up the arena. I start throwing with force bunches of them towards her in all directions incase she's moving around again. When the fog finally disperses she's all cut up, obviously not able to dodge all of them. She slowly stands herself up, showing she's not done yet. I'm out of breath, but try and look confident.

"How could she have survived that?" I think to myself. If this keeps up I'm going to have to use that technique. I have flashback of the guy who used it on me while I was in the forest of death. Followed by that boy saved me, making me look up at Gaara whose eyes are glued onto the match and notices me staring at him. Temari then starts to swipe her fan multiple times and I make a box around me.

"It's useless Temari," I tell her. "Lightning style earth flash!" I slam the ground and a wave of lightning is created. A look of shock appears on her face at the immense lighting chakra. I've used up all my chakra, however. If she survives this then it's surely over for me. I look over and see Temari has disappeared. The wave travels to the opponent in the blink of an eye how did she have time to move? That's when I notice floating up above.

"Quite an impressive jutsu you got there, but not good enough!" She jumps down behind me and uses some kind of whirl wind jutsu, trapping me inside. It starts to leave cuts all over my body. And I start to fall to the ground right on top of my weapons I threw earlier. Lee appears under me and catches me and Procter adds I lost the match.

Lee then says some things to Temari and if I remember correctly she called me garbage. Lee uses his leaf hurricane but she easily dodges it then guy-sensei comes down. Gaara insults Lee and my sensei and I sit myself up and stare at him. Guy sensei tells Lee to calm down while Gaara and Lee exchange death glares.

"You did good, Temari," I tell her. She looks confused that I would complement her after she just insulted me; she stares at me as I struggle to get on my feet. She did insult me and I would usually never let something like that pass, but I have to be the bigger person here.

"Next time, I won't be the one losing," I say confidently with a smile making her stare turn into a slight glare and smirk. The stretcher people come, but I tell them I'm fine because I want to watch the rest of the fights. Guy-sensei insists I go to the infirmary, but I refuse and start to walk up the stairs limping.

"Why is she so strong willed?" Temari says to herself as she watches Yamouri go up the stairs.

"That was an interesting fight," Neji says as I stand by him on the railing. Shikamaru then asks if I'm ok, and adds that it was a really close match, which sort of makes me feel better. It just hit me though if I was in a better condition I wouldn't have any trouble defeating her.

"I need to get stronger!" I think to myself. "After all the hard work I was still defeated so easily!" I tighten my grip on the railing as the whole thing just pisses me off. We watch the panel and its Shikamaru and the girl sound ninja from earlier turn. Ino and some other blonde girl start cheering for him as he walks down. I'm pretty sure Shika is annoyed that he has to fight a girl, but if he goes easy on her because of that then he'll have to deal with me later.

"Don't go easy on her just because she's a girl Shikamaru!" I shout. He looks up at me and I make a fist at him. He then sighs heavily and the Procter yells begin. The girl stabs Shikamaru in the arm with needles right away. I notice Shikamaru stops moving.

"What's wrong with him?" I say out loud. The girl starts explaining something about a sound wave that comes from the bells she's throwing. She throws more at him, but he uses his shadow possession jutsu and she leans back hitting her head, making herself go unconscious and losing the match. Ino starts to cheer again and so does the other blonde haired girl across the room. Well that was interesting. Lee starts to complain because it's not his turn. Seventh match is Kiba and Naruto. During the match Naruto farted in Kiba's face and I laughed really loudly. The match was good and kind of long resulting in Naruto's victory.

"Whoooohoooo!" Shouts Lee. I had no idea Naruto was so strong.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

Next match was that cat girl named Kaira. She almost killed her opponent even though he gave up, which shocked everyone. Kiba went down to see if she was okay, I have a feeling there's something going on there between them since he clearly showed his big concern for her injuries. Next match is Hinata vs. Neji.

"Oh no I don't know who to root for because Neji is on my team, but Hinata is my friend," I think to myself. Judging by the look on Neji's face he isn't going to go easy on her.

"This could get ugly…." I tell Lee. Hinata calls Neji her brother and Naruto starts asking questions. Lee explains there has been some feud between their two families. Neji starts a speech about Hinata not having any confidence which angers me as well.

"I had no idea he was so harsh," I think to myself as I watch them talk while the match begins.

"A failure will always be a failure," Neji tells her. I tighten my grip on the railing again as those words sound familiar. A pain shoots threw my arms and up to my shoulder because of the grip being so tight, but I don't care. Hinata struggles as Neji charges at her like he's intestinally trying to injure her severely. Both Hinata and Neji are using gentle fist. After a few minutes of Hinata falling and getting back up Neji wins the match, but lots of people intervene the fight because he could have killed Hinata.

When the next battle is shown on the panel I nearly fall over the railing from shock. Gaara vs. Lee. Of all the people remaining it had to be him fighting him. I look over at Gaara who is looking over at Lee. After witnessing what he did with his sand back in the forest, he could easily kill Lee. They say no one is able to hurt Gaara because of his sand, but maybe Lee can change that. I look over and see Lee pumped to fight and is even taking notes from what guy-sensei is advising.

"This can't be good," I say to myself as I watch Lee and Gaara walk down to the battle field. It begins and right away Lee runs towards him, but his sand makes a shield like it did for me. His sand makes a wave like thing and Lee dodges it and his sand recedes back into the gourd. Lee goes for another attack, but Gaara doesn't even lift a finger as the sand surrounds him. Lee continues trying to get a hit in for what seems like minutes. Gaara's sand takes Lee's leg and slams it into the wall.

"Lee!" I shout as I watch him get back on his feet. While Gaara throws another attack at him. The sand crushes where Lee was, but Lee is up in the air now. My eyes are glued to the whole battle, even if I wanted to my eyes won't look away. Lee reveals his weights on his legs and everyone assumes they only weigh about five pounds, but when they hit the ground it makes a loud sound. Suddenly he becomes ten times faster and starts to hit right through his defense.

"Alright Lee!" I shout. Lee kicks Gaara's head down and everyone looks shocked like they can't believe someone actually hit him the unbeatable Gaara. Lee kicks Gaara across the floor, but he slowly starts to stand himself up again looking angrier.

"What the?" I gasp as I see Gaara's face cracking and falling off. Lee starts to kick Gaara upwards. After a few minutes of fighting Gaara uses his sand and grabs a hold of Lee's arm and leg and he starts to do the same thing he did in the forest. When he closed his fist he crushed the person inside so is he trying to do the same here?

"Stop!" I yell making Gaara's attention turn towards me. At that very moment others intervene and the match is over. Gaara wins, but Lee is badly injured.

"Lee!" I shout. Guy-sensei is giving him a hug telling him it's ok. I look over at Gaara and I get a shiver down my spine, wanting to go up to him and give him a piece of my mind. I hear the medical ninja say that Lee's days as a shinobi are over. Poor Lee wanted to prove himself so badly. Choji and the other sound ninja was the next match. The sound ninja won and that ends the preliminary round of the Chuunin Exam. The actual third part of the exam will be held a month from now. I didn't pass so I get to watch the winners in battle. Not really something to be proud of, but I guess we get to go home now. I desperately need to see Lee and Hinata first.


	7. Chapter 7 Hikaru and the black cat

The exams have finally ended and we're allowed to leave. I wanted to go see Hinata and Lee right away, but Guy-sensei insists I get checked out first because I looked pretty messed up with all the cuts and bruises. I can't win a fight against him and his hot head so I had to listen. A few minutes later the nurse bandaged my hands and told me I fractured my knee. The bruises and cuts can heal themselves. She stitches up the gash I had on my shoulder that I forgot about. After that I ask to go see Lee, but Guy-sensei tells me to go home also adding we get a few days off to take a break from training.

"I want to see how he's doing," I tell Guy-sensei. He puts his hand on my shoulder telling me that there is nothing I can do for either of them right now and it's best that I go home and rest. Unable to argue again, I just sigh and start to walk home.

"Hey wait up!" Shouts a voice from behind me. I turn around and see Shikamaru running towards me and right notices I'm holding my shoulder.

"Hey Shikamaru," I greet him and he starts to walk with me as we reminisce about the exams.

"I don't feel like drawing today," I tell him a bit disappointment myself. I know he was looking forward to taking a nap, after all we've been doing the same since I can remember from the day we first met.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ Flashback ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I was sitting all alone by a tree doodling away. Drawing pictures of my family and my old home. No one here even tries to get to know me really. Then I started to walk home, and a group of boys started to make fun of me.

"A girl like you can never be a shinobi!" They shout. "You're too weak" They shouted. I ran home with tears streaming down my face.

"What do they know!" They have no idea what real pain is!" I told myself.

The next day I found a different place to sit and heard some boys running by. Kids my age are always playing together, but I distant myself from these people. When everyone else is playing outside, I just watch from a distance. Most of them are out of my age group anyways; no one knows where I came from.

"Hey," says a friendly voice. Slowly I look up and see a boy with black hair tied back in a spiky ponytail. For a few moments I just stare at him and wonder why he is talking to me. Instead of saying anything back I continue drawing, trying to ignore him.

"Is that a drawing you're doing?" He asks.

"Why won't he leave me alone?" I think to myself. His face looks so gentle and his tone is so welcoming.

"Yea…" I stutter. He just smiles and stares down at my paper.

"Mind if I sit next to you?" He asks. I just look at him and he takes a seat right by me.

"What does he want?" I ask myself as I examine him. He puts his arms behind his head and leans back.

"Playing for hours can be such a drag after a while," he tells me. I just give him a blank look as he introduces himself as Shikamaru, and offers me his hand to shake. I take him and introduce my name, though my voice is a bit shaky.

"Yamouri huh? What's that mean?" He asks. I tell him I don't know because my mother never told me if my name had a meaning. He then asks me to go play with him and his friends, but I tell him I need to go home. The next day he was waiting for me at my spot. I decided to go to a different place and found a tree and he eventually found me again.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ End of flashback ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I tell him I need to go home to rest and he offers to walk me home, but the lazy guy ends up only walking me half way. When I arrive home I find that I have nothing in any of my cabinets or my fridge. The whole thing is just depressing, so I decide to go buy some groceries and be back soon to fill everything up again.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ later that night ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I couldn't sleep so I decided to take a walk outside. It's pretty dark out so there's barely anyone outside, making the place look deserted. I brought my purse in case there's a market or something that stays open this late. Even though I was out earlier to buy my groceries, you never know if I want to buy a snack somewhere. I'm hoping I get to see Lee tomorrow also so maybe I can buy him a gift. At that moment I wonder what Neji is doing and then his battle comes to mind, I still can't believe he almost killed Hinata. My thoughts are interrupted by a meowing sound. While searching high and low I see a black kitty on a window seal nearby staring at me. It jumps down and starts to walk towards, looking up at me with his huge eyes.

"Oh hey there little guy," I say kindly as it starts to rub itself against my leg while it purrs. "Aren't you adorable!" I pick it up off the ground admiring how cute it is as it starts to rub against my neck.

"You're so soft!" I exclaim and then I gently put it down. Judging by the ribbon it is actually a she. "Well I got to get going now," I wave goodbye and start to walk off.

"Meow…" I hear her say. I look back at her as she just sits there in the middle of the street watching me walk away. I start to wonder who her owner is or if it's just a stray cat. I don't recall seeing it before. I hear voices coming ahead I look to see if it's someone I know, and when I look back I notice the cat is gone. She disappeared so quickly that I didn't even hear a sound. Shrugging it off, I start to head towards the center of the village again. I decide to take a short cut and make my way through an alley way, but when I turn the corner I find a surprise.

"BAM!" I smack something and fall back on my butt. I hold my head as I try to refocus my vision.

"Ow…" I moan. I look up and see a boy with big brown eyes and brown hair.

"I'm so sorry!" He says as he immediately stands himself up and offers me a hand to assist me in standing myself back up. "It's just that my mom is going to kill me if I'm late again! She gets so worried when I decide to stay a little longer at the training grounds," he rambles on and then he pauses and stares at me then a slight blush comes on his face and he smiles.

"My name is Hikaru Kato," He says as he offers me his hand to shake. I shake it confidently.

"Yamouri Kesaki," I say back. He continues smiling.

"If you don't mind me asking Yamouri…" he says.

"What," I ask.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing walking by herself at this hour?" He asks.

"Oh… I couldn't sleep," I tell him a bit embarrassed. A slight blush appears on my face.

He offers to walk me the rest of the way and I agree. He rambles on about the most random things. Most of it I tune out and others I take note. Hikaru is very clumsy he's tripped 4 times on our little walk. I just giggle at him, but his face turns red every time.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a food cart that was on the side falls over and Hikaru runs right into it, covering him in oranges. I look over and see the same black cat from before with the purple ribbon sitting on top of it.

"Did she knock the cart over?" I say to myself. The cat comes and rips the oranges open pouring juicy acid all over Hikaru and into his eyes.

"Owww…Stop that stupid cat!" Hikaru shouts in pain.

"Oh Hikaru!" I shout as I help him out of the pile. Took a while to register he needed my help because I was too busy trying to figure out why the cat did that in the first place. As soon as he's back on his feet dripping juice, I see the cat run off somewhere.

"That was weird..." I whisper.

"I don't like cats," Hikaru says in an angry tone.

"I love cats," I say cheerfully.

"Then I love cats too," Says Hikaru.

"Uh….?" I reply. He trips on his own foot and falls to the ground face first. "Oh…Hikaru…" I sigh as I help him up. After we helped clean up the mess that happened he walks me all the way to my house noting it's very nice. Even though it's an apartment, but some aren't even occupied. When I entered my house the butterfly was there, waiting.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ The next morning ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I open the curtains and find a beautiful sun shining through my window. Deciding to go for another walk, because there is just nothing to do in this house, so I plan to go look around for someone. I take out my note pad and start to doodle randomness.

"Yamouri! "Shouts a voice from behind. I turn around and see Choji and Shikamaru walking towards me.

"Hey guys!" I say happily. For some weird reason I'm in a very good mood today. I give Shikamaru and Choji a big smile. Choji says he has to go meet up with Asuma because he promised him food or something.

"I guess it's just us two again…" I tell Shikamaru and we go in line for some juice.

"Yamouri!" Shouts a familiar voice. I turn and see Hikaru running towards me just seconds after he called. He looks at me and then over at Shikamaru and stops running. He eyes him for a while then continues walking, but with a different kind of expression.

"Oh hey Hikaru!" I say happily. Hikaru gives me a tight hug and glares at Shikamaru.

"Uh…" I say awkwardly not liking when people touch me. He then tells me he's been looking for me all day.

"Grr…" My stomach growls and Hikaru and Shikamaru look at me, making me blush slightly.

"I guess I forgot to eat breakfast," I say shyly.

"Why don't I treat you to lunch?" Says Hikaru. "I'll pay for your meal and mine and oh…." he pauses a moment as he looks over at Shikamaru.

"Who are you again?" He asks in a stern tone." Didn't notice you there, so invisible you are."

"Shikamaru…" He sighs with a bit of aggravation in his voice. Hikaru totally ignores him and takes my hand and we begin walking away, I look back at Shikamaru to see if he's coming along or not.

"Help me!" I mouth and he starts to follow us Hikaru looks annoyed as he notices Shikamaru is with us. I force my hand out of his grip and go a bit closer to Shikamaru.

"Well this is awkward…" I say to myself as I watch them exchange death glares.

"What a drag... Who is this clown anyways…?" Shikamaru thinks to himself.

"This guy must have the hots for Yamouri… He is a major threat to me… I must show him Yamouri belongs with me! This boy looks like a girl anyways..." Hikaru thinks to himself.

"Uh guys I feel like eating some ramen actually... Naruto talks about it all the time and I'm kind of craving it right now..." I say confidently as I start to walk over to the place I always see Naruto eating. Hikaru suggests another place, but Shikamaru takes my side that ramen sounds good right now, which pisses Hikaru off. We take a seat and the man starts to pour us his special. Shikamaru and I start talking about our experiences in the Chuunin Exam.

"I became a Chuunin last year," says Hikaru randomly.

"Oh really? That's so cool Hikaru, You must be very strong," I say. A big grin comes on his face like it just made his day. Or maybe because he thinks he sounds really cool right now compared to Shikamaru.

"Show off…" Shikamaru says to himself.

"What!" Hikaru hisses.

"Oh look how pretty it is today," I add trying to ease the tension. I take a bit of my bread roll and accidently bit my lip and it starts to bleed.

"Oh here, let me get that," Hikaru says as he picks up a napkin and starts to lean into my face.

"I can do it myself Hikaru," I tell him. He gets closer and closer and then all of a sudden I hear Shikamaru kick his leg from under the table making him fall over with the table and all the food spilling all over him.

"Whoops!" Says Shikamaru sarcastically and then grins when he thinks I'm not looking.

"Good thing the soups cooled down... That would have hurt like crazy," I tell Hikaru as he stands himself up breathing heavily like he's about to blow. He gives Shikamaru a nasty look and picks up the table and sits himself back on the chair.

"Meow…" I look around and see that black kitty from before sitting on the window seal. I wonder how she got into the restaurant; she jumps on the table and attacks Hikaru's face surprising everyone.

"Stupid cat get off me!" He yells while trying to get it off. Shikamaru fights back laughter while I help Hikaru take the cat off without injuring her.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

We finally managed to get her off and she left the restaurant, luckily not pouncing back on Hikaru's face.

"This was surely a very interesting day," I yawn and see Shikamaru looks bored, and Hikaru has an ice pack on his face.

"I despise cats," Hikaru says angrily. I try and hold back my laughter because his face is all swollen and he's pouting complaining about how much he hates cats. After we paid we go on another little walk of ours. My butterfly appears and starts to circle around Hikaru trying to poke his eye.

"What's with you an animals?" I ask curiously. It seems like they are always out to get him. Shikamaru says maybe its cause he smells or looks funny or talks funny. Hikaru threatens to punch him and I see Naruto walking with Sakura. This is a good opportunity to distract these two and a good subject change.

"Naruto! Sakura! How are you guys?" I start to run over while waving. They look a bit confused, but their attention is drawn to Hikaru, the mysterious new boy.

"What's wrong with your face?" Naruto ask while up close to him and staring. I laugh nervously when I see Hikaru's reaction.

"Did you get into a fight with a tree and lose?" He asks. Hikaru looks annoyed and Shikamaru grins. Sakura introduces herself to him acting like she just met a celebrity. Of course she would Hikaru is good looking I guess. Naruto makes a remark about Shikamaru being lazy and that he finally decided to do something active for a change. He gets mad at this and tells Naruto he is stupid.

"So how's Lee?" Naruto asks. I think back to his fight and not being able to see him yet.

"I don't exactly know…" I say sadly and I look to the ground. Naruto puts his hand on my shoulder.

"He'll be alright, believe it," he says with a thumbs up and a smile that makes me feel glad there's someone like Naruto around. I smile back and say good bye to Sakura and Naruto as they mention they have to finish some errands.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"I'm bored," I sigh and take a seat on a nearby bench. Hikaru tries to sit next to me, but Shikamaru beat him to it, while looking satisfied with himself.

"I think this a good time to shake things up a bit," I say to myself. While they are looking at something I take a mushroom out of my pocket and eat it real fast.

"So Yamouri, what's your favorite type of food?" Hikaru asks. The world suddenly changes into a weird shade of yellow as I stare at him with a blank expression.

"What did you say?" I shout and clumsily stand up and tilt my head as he repeats himself. I take that as an insult and start to run off.

"Hey wait up!" They call at the same time as they chase after me. I start to run faster by people not even aware I could knock over people's carts if I accidently turn too sharply. Shikamaru starts to walk because he's too lazy to keep running after me.

"This should lighten things up!" I jump over some carts and disappear losing them in the process.

Both Shikamaru and Hikaru are out of breath and waiting by a tree. I push them forward while throwing dirt at them, but they catch themselves and look back at me with confused dazed looks. I start to laugh at them while they try and wipe off the dirt on their faces.

"You guys are dirty boys," I say playfully. We begin walking again after I've calmed down a bit. They still have no idea what that was, but it's not like they need to know. When we turn a corner I spot a flower store just up ahead.

"Hey I think Ino's family owns that shop," I add and then and we start to walk over. We see in the window a bouquet of forget me not flowers. When I see them I freeze and my heart starts to beat faster as I think back to when I first laid eyes on them.


	8. Chapter 8 Forget me not

"Yamouri?" Asks Hikaru.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ Flashback ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Yamouri look at this!" Kento shouts as I run over to him and see his turtle buried under the mud.

"That can't be safe for him, Kento…" I say worryingly as I watch it struggle to get free. I help it out and Kento looks annoyed like he was enjoying that.

"Here you go little guy," I say with a smile as I help it get clean. Kento smiles at me and a slight blush appears on his face and he turns away to hide it.

"Let's continue playing the game Yamouri!" Shouts Kento excitedly.

"Ok," I giggle and start to make my famous mud pies. Kento and I play a game where he is the dad and I am the mom. Kyho is supposed to be our son, but he's late meeting us at our usual playing place. Kento comes into the fort with his trusty turtle on his shoulder. Though he puts it in awkward situations you can really tell he truly cares for that little turtle.

"Maybe that's the closest thing Kento has to loving something besides his uncle. Since he doesn't remember much of his parents," I say to myself as I watch Kento pet the turtle's head.

"Sorry I'm late, "I hear Kyho's voice behind me. I turn to him and give him an annoyed look.

"I spank the back of his neck lightly and lock his head in my arm.

"Ow Let go Yamouri!" He struggles. I pretend to be his mom and tell him he's grounded and to go to his corner. He agrees, but he isn't too happy about it. Kento comes back from gathering wood and he makes a fire.

"That's such a tiny fire," Kyho says in a mocking tone. He just can't accept me and Kento are best friends.

"Kyho…." I say quietly. He turns to me and gets the message and stays quiet. I pick up Kento's turtle and play with it for a bit. I see Kyho is walking away.

"Kyho where are you going?" I shout after him.

"I don't want to play with him any longer," Kyho says sternly pointing at Kento. They both glare at each other and then Kyho leaves.

"I guess you can be the son," I tell the turtle cheerfully. After awhile at our fort Kento and I and the turtle go for a walk. Kento runs ahead like usual.

"Hey wait for me!" I shout trying to catch up. We run into a meadow of purplish blue flowers.

"There's so many of them!" I say cheerfully as I go up to one to pick. I smell it and it's wonderful.

"What kind of flowers are these?" I ask Kento.

"They're called forget me not flowers," he says aware of my big smile. Whenever I smile he does too. Well sometimes. I pick a big bouquet of them while Kento holds his turtle. He tries to feed him one, but he doesn't like it.

I throw the bouquet at Kento's face and start to laugh hysterically.

"I'll get you back for that!" He says.

"So why do they call them forget me nots?" I ask Kento. He shrugs and starts to walk back towards the fort holding his turtle on his head.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ The next morning ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I go to where Kento and I usually meet, but I couldn't find him. It's pouring a lot today so it's not exactly a good day to play our ninja family game.

"Kento?" I shout looking around.

"That's strange…" I whisper quietly.

After a few minutes of looking around I see Kento at the top of a hill all by himself looking at the ground.

"Kento!" I shout as I run towards him.

"I was looking everywhere for you," I laugh. I notice Kento's face is sad. He hasn't stopped looking at the ground. I look down and see a little patch that looks like something as been buried and a tombstone with forget me nots by it.

"What is this?" I ask him totally shocked. I notice his turtle is missing.

"Where's your…?" I'm interrupted by Kento who says he died last night. I look down at the grave.

"Poor Kento…Poor turtle…" I say to myself as I examine Kento's face. That turtle was the closest thing he had and now it's gone. Kento starts to walk away slowly.

"Huh?" I ask.

"Promise me Yamouri….." Kento starts to say. All my attention is to him.

"No matter what happens you won't forget me…" he says quietly. I look down at the flowers on the turtle's grave. A slight breeze goes by and lifts my hair.

"What does he mean?" I think to myself.

"I promise…I won't..." I tell him.

"Good," he says as he turns around towards me with a smile on his face, but the smile fades and he walks home. A small tear streams down his face. That's the first time I ever saw him cry. He leaves me alone in the pouring rain watching over the grave. I kneel down and place my hand on the grave stone.

"I promise I won't forget you little guy," I say sadly and begin to walk home.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ End of flashback ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I reach out and touch the flowers.

"I remember…." I say quietly. Shikamaru and Hikaru both give me a confused look.

"The flowers…" I say.

"Uhh….?" Hikaru says. All these memories are suddenly coming back to me.

"Yamouri?" Hikaru says while shaking my shoulders.

I hadn't realized I zoned out.

"Oh, sorry guys…" I tell them.

"I think I'm going to go home now, I have a lot of things I need to do at my house," I tell them and start to run off while waving.

"Think back of all the good times makes me so sad," I think to myself.

I only have 80 dollars so I can't buy many groceries, just the necessities. I start to walk around looking at all the different markets and begin to make a list in my head. I find some oranges and start to laugh in my head.

"Oh silly Hikaru…" I say to myself.

After a few minutes of shopping I start walking home with big bags of food. I can barely see in front of me. I turn the corner on the regular route to my house and bump into something and my bags fall down. Luckily nothing important spilled.

I look up and see Naruto who is immediately apologizing and picking up the things that fell.

"I didn't see you.. Yamouri.." he continues.

"Oh it's ok Naruto," I say kindly and begin to struggle to bring them all to my house.

"Wait Yamouri!" Naruto calls after me and offers to help me with my bags.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Well here it is!" I say cheerfully.

"I live in a big apartment on the second floor," I add. Naruto doesn't look forward to carrying the heavy bags up those stairs, but oh well.

After nearly dragging him up we finally arrive at my home. I open the door and Naruto looks around in awe. He's never been in my house before. Come to think of it no one has except the butterfly. Not even Shikamaru has set foot in here.

"You can put the groceries on the table," I tell him. He puts them and starts to look around again. I start to unpack some and organize my cabinets.

"Yamouri..?" Naruto says in a funny tone.

"What?" I ask. He has a funny look on his face as he stares into my empty refrigerator.

"Oh well I don't exactly spend a lot of time here," I tell him.

"I spend most of my time training or drawing," I continue as Naruto starts to fill up the fridge.

"I guess it didn't show how hard I train at the Chuunin exams," I think to myself. I put the oranges in a basket and put them in the middle of the table. I start to smile at the funny image of Hikaru and the cat.

"I'll never look at oranges the same," I say sarcastically.

I notice some of my furniture is a little dusty and I suddenly feel embarrassed having company over and the house looking so old.

"So uhh… You haven't cleaned in awhile huh?" Naruto says as he rubs his finger across a table and it's covered in dust.

"Like I said I'm rarely here," I giggle with a light blush on my face. Naruto begins to clean the tables.

"Oh you don't have to do that Naruto!" I tell him, but he just smiles and says its fun. I finish putting everything away and help Naruto clean up my house. He turns it into a contest and starts to clean super fast.

"Hey!" I shout noticing him run back and forth.

"Two can play this game!" I start to scrub faster cleaning my windows and vacuuming all the floors.

Naruto starts to run even faster and makes faces at me.

"Whatever you're going down Naruto!" I start to pick up the speed as well.

He starts laughing at me and then gets a wipe and slowly starts to clean some of the pictures I have on the wall and above the mantle. I concentrate on cleaning my vases and watering my plants.

"Hey Yamouri who is this?" Naruto asks pointing at a picture. I look over and see him holding a picture from when I was five with Kyho. It feels like I froze or something because I just stand there and don't even move a muscle.

"Oh….that's my brother," I stutter.

"Oh I didn't know you had a brother, Yamouri!" He continues. He then looks over at my family picture of my parents my brother and I. I think it finally hit Naruto that this house only looks like one person lives in it.

A look of shock comes on his face.

"If you don't mind me asking, Yamouri, Where is your family?" He asks.

I feel like I'm going to throw up as the image of my family laying there soaked in blood pops up in my head.

"They're gone…" I finally say while continuing what I am doing.

Naruto must have understood and didn't ask again. He then holds a picture of Kento and me and asks about that one. I look over at it and see in the background is his turtle and remember what I thought earlier today.

"Is this guy you're brother too?" He asks. Suddenly Kento's last words go through my head.

"No," I say sternly. "He use to be a friend…" I say angrily. Naruto looks a bit confused and puts the picture down I feel very angry right now, but try to hide my emotions.

Whenever the thoughts come back I get all touchy. I need to relax myself. After a while of cleaning Naruto goes home and I thanked him for all he did today.

I notice he misplaced some of the pictures and I start to rearrange them. The one of Kento and me two days before his turtle died. For awhile I just stare at it as I remember all the good times we had together. I remember my brother warning me that something wasn't right about Kento and I didn't listen.

"Why?" I ask myself. "When did Kento turn like that? So many questions left unanswered. I throw the picture at the wall and the glass spreads all over the floor.

"Those memories are nothing, but a burden to me," I say out loud. I go into my room and unpack all the mushrooms from the forest and put them in a big bowl and place them on the counter. I then take out my sword and start to examine it.

"I wish someone could teach me the techniques this scroll talks about," I say to myself.

I know guy-sensei said to take a break and not to train for a few days, but I feel like I have an obligation that no one can ever understand. Because no one has to deal with the issues I have. I clench my fist and throw my sword at the wall and it lays flat on the ground.

"Soon the day will come…. And I won't be the one that's helpless," I say angrily. "I will show no mercy, just like you, Kento."


	9. Chapter 9 Determination

I sit on the window seal as I watch the heavy rain fall down on the ground. I look over at my family pictures and the one broken on the ground.

"It's hard to admit, but…" I whisper to myself. "I miss you guys so much." I place my head between my knees and let the tears come out.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few days later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I go to the training ground to meet up with Neji. He likes it when I help him train because I have such good aim. Even though I'm not going to be in the tournament I still need to help Neji.

After awhile of vigorous training, we are both exhausted.

"I don't think I can keep this up. No human being can," I tell Neji out of breathe as a bunch of kunai fall to the ground.

"I think I used too much of my chakra," Neji says as he collapse to the ground.

"Neji!" I shout as I run too him.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ later that day ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I take my sword and my other weapons as I head out the door for another night of secret training by myself. It seems like it's always raining when I have a bad day. I look up at the foggy sky and the grey clouds.

"This is good weather to practice my lightning techniques. I think back to the Chuunin exams. Everyone was watching and everyone saw me fail so easily.

How can anyone ever take me seriously? Then I think back to today's training and even Neji fainted from pushing himself too hard. I begin with throwing all my kunai knives at the targets and hit them perfectly. It's hard to miss. I then begin to practice my simple barrier jutsus'and work my way up to the lightning techniques. When I use them it seems to take up a lot of my energy. I then absorb some lightning from one of the thunder clouds up in the sky and use my simple earth flash.

This sucks I'm already out of breathe. I then think back to what Neji was telling Hinata during their battle.

"Once a failure always a failure," he said. I stand back up and do it over and over.

After a few hours I take out my knife/sword and examine it.

"What exactly is this for?" I think to myself. It just seems like a regular knife, but when you pull it out of the case it transform. Almost like an awakening. So maybe it's some kind of spell that was cast to disguise it from something.

"Why would my dad have something like this though?"

Based on the scroll, it is lightning based, but every time I try to use it, my hand burns and I waste all of my chakra.

"You are no use to me," I tell it as I throw it to at a tree and it falls to the ground. At the blink of an eye a lightning bolt hits it and it starts to glow as it absorbed all the lighting and then it face towards me and the lightning is coming right at me.

"What the heck?" I shout as I quickly put up a barrier. It all goes in slow motion as the lightning takes shape into a spear and cuts right threw my barrier like paper and pierces me threw my shoulder as I'm pinned up on a tree.

"Aaah!" I scream in pain as a gush of blood comes out of my mouth.

"That was so fast, how could if have gone threw my wall so easily," I think to myself as I just stare at the knife/sword lying on the ground.

"What was that?" I continue thinking. I look down and see a puddle of blood coming from my shoulder. The lighting spear is still pinning me.

I start to feel really weak.

"The spear is absorbing my chakra?" I say out loud as I try and remove it, but shock my hands.

"Oww!" I shout.

"How am I suppose to remove this?" I shout as I try again and shock my hands again. I take out a kunai knife and try to remove it like that, but the electric charge seems to go right threw it and to my hand. I drop the kunai knife and see it start to smoke and then breaks down to ashes.

"What the..?" I gasp. I try it again and watch it do the same.

"Why doesn't it do that to my hand?" I think to myself. I feel myself getting really weak, it's almost hard to breathe. My vision starts to blur, but I shake myself back awake.

"What is this?" I shout. I use my hands and form a barrier around the spear as I use my technique and make the box disappear. Usually whatever is trapped disappears with the box, but the spear is still there.

"I'm going to be stuck like this! I can't die now!" I have so much to prove!" I shout as I take a grasp of it and start to pull. It starts to shock my hands, I can feel the burning sensation. I let out a big scream of pain as I continue pulling and don't let go of my grip. The surge seems to be getting stronger.

"Aaah!" I gasp. I bite my tongue to avoid letting out anymore screams. I continue pulling and I can feel it slowly start to come out. My hands start to bleed, but I ignore it and continue pulling.

"That's right! Come out!" I shout as its half way out. My hands are numb, but not my will to live. I let out a groan as with the last of my strength let out another strong pull and the spear flies to the ground and disappears into thin air. I let out another scream of pain as my hands are burned. It's an intense pain. I have to use all my might to hold my screams in.

It can't be helped and I let another scream out.

"I need to find something cold to cool my hands," I tell myself. I'm too weak to get up.

I hear a voice coming closer.

"Yamouri!" It shouts. I look over and see Neji running towards me.

"Oh no! I can't let him see me like this, "I tell myself as I start to crawl away, but my vision goes blurry and my face falls to the ground.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few days later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I slowly start to open my eyes and realize I'm in a hospital room. I look down at my hands that are wrapped in bandages. I try and sit myself up, but my shoulder sends a spear of pain all over my body and I lay back down. I look around and don't see anybody.

"What happened last night?" I think to myself.

I look out the window and see the butterfly fly by the window. I hear the door open and look over to see who it is, but the curtain around my bed doesn't let me see. Neji pulls the curtain out of the way.

"Oh it's you," I say in my head.

"I see you're finally awake," he says sternly. I avert my eyes because I know what he is thinking.

"There's no need to push yourself so hard," he says.

"I know," I say quietly.

"Why on earth did you train by yourself at night after a long day of us already training?" He asks in a monotone voice.

"I.." I start to say, but then just stay quiet.

"I'm going to meet up with Guy-sensei later, I'll see you later," he says as he starts to walk off.

A few minutes later Guy-sensei walks in.

"Listen Yamouri," he starts to say. "I understand why you train so hard, but risking your life on it is not an option."

I just stare at his face.

"You don't know anything," I think to myself.

It's like he read my mind.

"You probably think, I don't know right?" He says. "Revenge is not the answer, but I know you are desperate to defeat him…"

"What!" I gasp. How did he know? I never told him. Unless…

"I've known the whole time, Yamouri. You are just like Sasuke. However, if you choose to go down this path, you will only harm yourself," he finishes off.

I just sit there shocked at everything he just said. I try to argue with him, but he just sighs. He starts to leave, but I call after him.

"When can I see Lee?" I ask trying to change the subject. He just says when I feel better.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ the next day ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

The nurse walks in to change my sheets. I can sort of stand now. I'm looking at the window because I'm not allowed outside for some odd reason. Probably Guy-sensei's orders.

I see Lee trying to do push ups in the yard and Ino and Sakura and the nurse are running to him.

"What the heck Lee?" I shout. I know he can't hear me, but I see now he is just like me. He tries too hard and pushes himself. The nurse touches his shoulder and he yells at her to stay away. I realize now that Guy-sensei was right. There's nothing I can do for him right now.

I remember that Lee's days as a ninja are over.

"Poor Lee…" I say sadly and the nurse comes back in.

"Oh Yamouri! You shouldn't be out of bed," she says.

I ignore her and continue watching Lee struggle to do push ups.

"It's hard to believe his days as a ninja could be over…" I say quietly. The nurse is confused and walks over to the window and sees the sight. Lee collapse to the ground and the nurse runs to get help. The nurse that was with me goes to help. I think back to when I first met Lee and how he said he would be a splendid ninja with only taijutsu.

"Oh Lee.." I sigh.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few hours later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

The sun is setting and I finally get to visit Lee. Except that he is a sleep. I see a flower in a vase on the bed stand by his bed.

"Sakura must have put that there," I say quietly as I watch Lee sleep.

"Don't worry Lee, you'll be back on your feet soon," I whisper to his ear. I have a very good feeling that he is going to come out of this just fine.

I walk back to my room and start to pack my things. There's no need to stay here. I get everything and start to walk out the door, but a nurse stops me and tells me to go back to my room.

"Fine I'll leave tomorrow," I tell myself. I get into bed and try and fall asleep, but I'm just not sleepy. My hair is down because I can't find my ponytail. The nurse must have stolen it. I can't sleep unless it's up and out of my face.

"Besides how can I sleep when I'm worried about Lee," I say quietly. I think back to Gaara's face when he injured Lee. He didn't even care. I clench my fist as I think back to it. He reminds me so much of Kento.

"A heartless monster," I say to myself.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ the next morning~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I hear Naruto came to the hospital. I ask the nurse what room he is in. I walk in and see Shikamaru playing a game by himself.

"Shikamaru?" I ask. He looks up shocked to see me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask confused as well.

I look down at his board.

"Are you playing by yourself?"I ask sarcastically while laughing.

"No!" He sighs.

"So what happened to Naruto?" I ask.

"He over did it at training," he adds.

"Wait! Why are you in the hospital?" Shikamaru asks. Just now noticing my bandages.

"Oh, I over did it too I guess," I say with a smile and put my hand behind my head. I say goodbye and leave Naruto's room. He was asleep anyways. I go to my room and I suddenly get a strong urge to check up on Lee. I grab my backpack, but the urge is still there. I start to walk towards Lee's room. My backpack opens and my clothes scatter in the hallway. I retrace my steps to find everything that just fell.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Why do I have this urge to check up on Lee?" I ask myself. I'm almost there. I walk by several rooms and one of them is open. It's Naruto's room I look inside and see he is gone. I continue walking to Lee's room. On the way I see Gaara walking toward me from Lee's room.

"What the!" I gasp as he starts to come closer holding his head.

"Could he have killed Lee?" I think to myself.

"Lee!" I shout. I start to walk faster and I'm right in front of Gaara.

"If you hurt Lee again, I will hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands," I say angrily. He looks up at me and walks by and his shoulder brushes against mine. I feel a cold shiver go down my spine and I feel as if I can't talk. I run to Lee's room and see Naruto, Shikamaru, and Guy-sensei standing there with sand on the floor.

"What happened in here?" I ask. Naruto is shaking, Shikamaru looks shocked and Guy-sensei just sighs.

They summarized it and I knew I was right.

I walk over to Lee and touch his hand. Tomorrow is the final exam and Poor Lee won't get to see. I'm looking forward to some people's matches.


	10. Chapter 10 What a drag

Shikamaru offers to walk me home since I insisted on leaving the hospital early.

"I had nothing serious. I should have left the first day I was here," I think to myself as I look over at Shikamaru. He told me he had to verse that girl I fought and lost to.

"Hey Shikamaru," I start to say. He looks over at me.

"I just wanted to say…" I'm suddenly interrupted by Hikaru slapping our backs and coming right in between us.

"HEY GUYS!" He shouts in our ears. We both scoot away and cover our ears.

"Hey Hikaru," I say awkwardly.

"It's you again," Shikamaru sighs.

"Did you miss me?" Hikaru asks Shikamaru. I let out a giggle and Hikaru puts his arm around me. I shove it off and go on the other side of Shikamaru.

"I'm kind of hungry," I tell them as I start to cough a little.

"Didn't you eat at the hospital?" Shikamaru asks.

"WHAT!" Hikaru shouts. "You were in the hospital!" He asks worryingly.

"Idiot.." Shikamaru says under his breathe.

"Oh ya," I let out a small giggle. "It wasn't serious at all." There's a festival today because the exams are tomorrow. I smell some delicious curry and beg Shikamaru to come with me to get some. Hikaru tags along and gives Shikamaru a little shove.

"I wish you two would stop doing that," I sigh.

"I can't wait to cheer for you tomorrow Shikamaru," Hikaru says sarcastically. "Would you like me to think of a dance to go along with my cheer?" He asks. I try and hold my laughter in.

"I'd rather you stay quiet," Shikamaru replies.

"I think I'll think of a booty dance," Hikaru continues.

"What the..?" I think to myself as I let out a small laugh.

Shikamaru rolls his eyes and then whispers in my ear that Hikaru is a freak.

"Be nice," I sigh.

"Yamouri has anyone ever told you how wonderful your laugh is?" Hikaru says. A slight blush comes on my face as I look over at him.

"No.." I say shyly.

"Oh brother, quit being such a suck up," Shikamaru says in a mocking tone.

"Oh am I making you uncomfortable Shikamaru?" Hikaru asks and he comes to my side and puts his arm around me again. Once again I shove his arm off and go to the other side of Shikamaru.

"There's no need to be jealous," Hikaru mocks and sticks his tongue at Shikamaru. I blush and so does Shikamaru. Hikaru says good bye because his mother calls him.

Shikmaru smirks at him running so fast and calls him a momma's boy. I see Hinata and her team and wave at them as we walk towards them.

"Hinata! Long time no see," I say cheerfully.

"Oh hey guys," she smiles back. The boys start talking about the exam tomorrow and I ask if Hinata is ok since I didn't get to see her in the hospital. The last time I saw her was when Neji fought her which was nearly one month ago.

I look over at Shino and remember the bugs that were crawling all over him. I stand there examining him.

"Why does he hide himself in that outfit?" I think to myself. "Is he trying to be mysterious?"

Shino looks over at me and I see one crawling on his neck.

"EW!" I gasp and hide behind Hinata. Shikamaru and Kiba look over to see what is up.

"Do I disgust you?" Shino says in a mocking tone.

"No…" I say shyly still hiding behind Hinata.

"You get use to it I guess," she says kindly trying to ease the tension. I see another bug on his neck and my face turns green.

"Oh gross!" I gasp. Shino gives me a funny look and takes a step forward I back away.

"Uh Yamouri?" Kiba says. Shino takes another step forward and I take another back.

Suddenly my butterfly comes out of nowhere and flies a circle around Shino. He jumps behind Kiba.

"Now that's ugly," Shino says.

"What did you say?" I hiss and make a fist at him while Shikamaru holds me back and Kiba holds Shino back.

"It's so girly looking," he adds.

"Come on you guys," Kiba sighs obviously weirded out by our little scene.

"She started it," Shino adds.

"This day already seems like a drag," Shikamaru adds.

"Well I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow?" I shout as I start to walk away slowly while waving.

"Sure thing," They add.

"Maybe we can sit together at the arena?" I ask Hinata and she nods.

I bet she is excited to cheer on Naruto.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ Later that day~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Are you nervous for your match?" I ask Shikamaru.

"Not really," he adds. I slap his shoulder.

"Oh come on, not even a little?" I ask. Someone throws a banana at Shikamaru's head. We turn around and see Hikaru running away.

"That idiot!" Shikamaru shouts. I let out a laugh and try and regain my composure. I got to admit that was pretty hilarious.

"I got to go look for my dad," Shikamaru says stubbornly.

We walk around looking for him. He most likely might be with Choji's dad and Ino's dad. Since they use to be a team back in the day. We hear his voice at some little food place and walk in. Shikamaru's hand behind his head.

"Welcome!" Someone shouts. Choji's dad looks over at us.

"Uhuh! Reinforcements are here! Come on in! Order something," he says enthusiastically.

Shikamaru lets out a big sigh and walk towards his dad.

"Hey dad," Shikamaru continues. His dad lets out a big grunt while holding his cup.

"Come on, can we go home already?" Shikamaru asks.

"Whaaat?" His dad replies. He seems really drunk. I try and hold my laughter.

"Listen, don't be a drag, you're suppose to be living it up at this festival," he continues while raising his cup.

"Ya right, some festival, eh it's a total drag," he pouts. His dad gives him a funny look.

"You idiot, since ancient…" his dad pauses and starts to chug down his cup. I start giggling uncontrollably and Shikamaru elbows my arms.

His dad lets out a big sigh as he finishes.

"Times the final competition has always been like a festival," his dad continues.

"I'm in that competition tomorrow, oh man I don't have time to babysit you," Shikamaru says whining and slumping his shoulders. His dad looks shocked.

"Huh? You're in it? What seriously?" His dad asks confused. I smirk and cover my mouth and Shikamaru looks annoyed.

"Never mind, just forget it," he adds and we start to walk off.

"You two have fun now," he adds. "Not too much fun though right Shikamaru?"

"Uh…" I say quietly and Shikamaru slaps his forehead.

"I'll see ya tomorrow Shika!" I shout as I start running home. I wave and give him thumbs up for good luck.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ The next morning ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I meet Neji at our training grounds because he is determined to win his match against Naruto. I throw multiple kunais' at him and shuriken and he dodges them perfectly.

After awhile of hardcore training I am gasping for breath.

"Incredible you don't have a scratch on you!" I shout excitedly seeing his improvement. "It's perfect, right Neji?"

"Why don't we call it a warm up, lets get going alright," he says in his usual tone of voice. After all that and he still acts like that.

"Selfish.." I think to myself. I go home and change real fast. From my usually green shirt with a yellow ribbon tied around my waist and my black capris to a white skort and a yellow shirt. I take off my ninja headband that I usually wear around my neck, but keep my hair up in its usual ponytail.

"This is it!" I say excitedly.

"The matches are finally here!"

I see people arriving in fancy carriages and lots of other people I've never seen before. Lots of local villagers are making their way over as well.

"Oh how exciting this is!" I think to myself as I look around for someone familiar.

"Yamouri!" Shouts a familiar voice. I turn around and see Hikaru. He is dressed differently for this event as well.

"Oh hey," I reply still looking around.

"Aww man where is Hinata?" I say out loud. Hikaru is munching away on some chips that Choji usually eats. They start to light up some fire works and Hikaru and I take a seat in one of the second rows.

"So you'll be cheering for Shikamaru?" Hikaru asks shyly.

"Well of course! He's one of my best friends," I say confidently looking at the audience suddenly getting bigger and bigger.

"Man this sure is packed," I say quietly looking around.

"I wonder how Gaara's match will be like," I think to myself as I remember his face when he walked out of Lee's room.

Then Guy-sensei's words go threw my head.

"You are just like Sasuke," he said.

"Neji's match is up first, I wonder what he is thinking…" I say quietly as Hikaru throws chips at random people.

"Hey!" I shout. "What are you doing?"

"Bleh!" He shouts and spills the whole bag on a mob of people.

"HEY!" They shout at us. I sink into my seat as my face turns red.

"Stupid boy…" I sigh.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

The people in the tournament line up in the middle of the arena. I notice a few people aren't there like Naruto and Sasuke.

"That's odd," I whisper and point it out to Hikaru who just noticed as well. I look over at Gaara and can't help but wonder what he has planned for Sasuke.

Suddenly out of nowhere Naruto comes running into the arena and lands in front of Shikamaru.

"Well what do you know! He finally showed up!" I say cheerfully.

"HAHA look at Shikamaru!" Hikaru yells at the top of his lungs. Shikamaru looks up at Hikaru then back at Naruto.

"Can you please be quiet?" Says a woman sitting in front of us.

"NO! I can do whatever I want!" Hikaru shouts and sticks his tongue out at her.

"Well I've never seen such a rude boy in my life!" She shouts back. I sink more into my seat and hide my face from the people who are starring.

"Listen old lady you should mind your own business," Hikaru says mockingly. The lady stands up and slaps his face.

"Didn't your mother teach you to respect elders?" She asks.

"Hikaru can you please stop? " I ask him angry now.

He sits in his chair and turns the other way. He starts to kick the lady's chair and then puts some chip crumbs in her hair.

"Grow up will you?" I tell him annoyed. I look down and see Shikamaru helping Naruto up.

"Silly Naruto showed up late," I say out loud trying to change the subject.

"OW!" Shouts the lady.

"Huh?" I asked puzzled. Hikaru's face is red and he is holding back his laughter. The lady gets up and starts to walk out of the aisle.

"Uh…Hikaru what did you do?" I ask shocked.

"Can you please tell that loser to quit trying to get attention," says a man that was sitting by her.

"Uh ok…Hikaru.." I look over and see he is sleeping.

"Oh my, it's like babysitting a four year old," I say sarcastically.

"What a freaking drag," I say angrily looking at Hikaru.

I see Hinata sitting a few rows away and wave at her. I look down at Naruto and then and start to get anxious.

"When is it going to start already," I sigh and search in my bag for a snack I brought with me.

"Yummy! Fudge!" I say excitedly as I unwrap it and shove it down.

"Oh so delicious!" I say happily. I look down at the arena.

"Still no Sasuke," I say quietly as I look over at Sakura and Ino.


	11. Chapter 11 The Final Exam Begins

The hokage then welcomes everyone and asks that no one leaves till all the matches are finished. He then says 8 candidates, but I look down and see Sasuke is missing.

"That's odd what happened to that ninja from the sound?" I ask confused.

"Wouldn't that be 9?" I look around then back down to the arena.

"He must have dropped out," I tell Hikaru who is still sleeping. The lady comes back and sits in front of him. Then the boy that looks like Kento comes and starts talking to Hikaru. They start whispering to each other and then he looks over at me and smiles.

"Eww.." I say quietly.

"Yamouri, this is Zai," Hikaru says confidently while pointing to the Kento look alike.

"Oh hello," I say kindly.

"Nice to meet you," he says and takes a seat next to Hikaru. He then points over to Kiba and Hinata and that one girl Kiba was with earlier.

"That's Kaira, she's my girlfriend," he says while pointing at her. She looks over at us and then back at the arena.

"Oh really? Then why is she with Kiba?" I ask confused. He turns red and stays quiet and Hikaru changes the subject.

The first match is finally about to begin the others leave the arena. Only Naruto and Neji remain

"Whoo!" I cheer. I don't know who to cheer for specifically since Neji is on my team and Naruto is my friend.

Hikaru wakes up and grabs another bag of chips.

"Poor Naruto, this match should end pretty quickly," he says. I look at Naruto then at Neji.

"Naruto isn't as weak as you think," I think to myself while looking at Hikaru.

"Begin!" Shouts the Procter as a strong wind blows by while Naruto vows to win. The crowd cheers very loudly.

"Yay!" I cheer. Hikaru is slumped in his sit all sloppy like with his legs happen.

"Didn't you learn manners?" I ask annoyed. He just shakes his head and continues making a mess of chips.

Neji gets into his usual stance for battle and takes a step forward while Naruto just stands there.

"Come on already!" I sigh.

Suddenly Naruto throws kunai knives at him and he dodges them easily while Naruto runs up to him. I gasp loudly and hear Kiba call him an idiot for going up close.

"I hope this doesn't end too quickly," I sigh again and continue watching. They go right into hand to hand combat. Neji hits one of Naruto's chakra points, but he missed. Neji looks angry.

Naruto then makes shadow clones and they take out their weapons. Naruto runs up to him and kicks him. Neji gets rid of his clones in a matter of seconds.

"Oh man.." I say quietly. Neji is strong, maybe too strong for Naruto..

Neji and him start talking. Probably about all the stuff Neji was telling Hinata. Looks like he just got Naruto excited.

Naruto makes clones again and the fight really starts to heat up. Neji hits one of his points and Naruto starts to bleed, but then he disappears.

"Whoo! Way to go Naruto!" I cheer quietly. He tricked Neji. Neji then uses his rotation and Naruto falls to the ground.

"That's one of Neji's special defenses," I tell Hikaru quietly as he is shocked at the sight. He was really getting into it.

"Neji can see 360 degrees with his byakugan," I explain to Hiakru and Zai who are obviously lost.

"He is about to use his special defense, the 8 trigrams palm rotation," they look at me in awe.

Neji does another of his rotation and once again Naruto falls to the ground.

"This is getting intense, "I sigh and slump in my chair. Once again his clones disappear.

"Come to think about it Neji's defense is like Gaara's," I tell them and they look over at Gaara who is watching the battle with his arms crossed.

Neji starts using his gentle fist and hitting Naruto all over his body. In a flash he hits all of his chakra points and Naruto falls to the ground shaking. The Procter walks forward near Naruto.

"It can't be over already…" I say sadly as I look at Naruto struggling to get up.

"Come on Naruto! Show Neji what you got," I whisper. I should be cheering for Neji, but his over confidence really angers me. Maybe it's time someone beats him to show him who is boss.

Naruto then stands himself up and shocks Neji's pants off.

"Naruto shouldn't even be breathing, let alone standing," I say quietly.

"Alright Naruto!" I cheer.

Neji takes off his headband and shows a mark on his forehead.

"Whaat is that?" I think to myself. "I've never seen that before."

They talk for a few minutes while Hikaru and Zai whisper between themselves.

I try really hard to listen in. Neji is talking about his past I think. He mentioned something about a cloud ninja..

"So is this why Neji is so bitter?" I think to myself. "Because his father was killed." I look down at the ground.

Neji hits Naruto in the stomach and he flies back again.

"Naruto…" I look over at Sakura and Ino who have their eyes glued to the arena.

Suddenly Naruto starts to use some sort of new chakra. I watch in awe as I wait for what is going to happen.

"What is he?" I shout excitedly. "I had no idea…" A strong wind blows and Naruto prepares to attack. In a flash Naruto appears behind him and then Neji uses his rotation.

"This is so cool!" Hikaru shouts.

Suddenly Naruto runs towards Neji with his chakra flowing everywhere and Neji quickly tries to use his rotation and block it, but a huge explosion occurs and a puff of smoke.

"Neji!" I shout as I stand in my chair to see what just happened.

Neji comes out of the ground struggling to stand. I look over to the other and wait to see if Naruto is going to stand up as well. Naruto comes flying out of the ground and punches Neji's face as he flies up in the air and he lands on the ground unable to move. Naruto wins the round. The audience goes wild cheering for him. I sit there with a smile on my face.

"I can't believe Neji was beat," I start to say, "I'm glad it was you, Naruto."

The next match is supposed to be Sasuke and Gaara, but Sasuke still isn't here..

The medics take Neji on a stretcher and I look around for any sign of Sasuke. Then a thought runs threw my mind.

"What if Gaara already killed him?" I think to myself as I stare at Gaara's face.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

The crowd is getting angry waiting for the next match to begin, but there is no Sasuke.

"Man he sure likes to try and get attention not showing up," Zai tells Hikaru.

Some people start booing and others are cussing and what not.

I take a big sigh and wait for what the hokage is going to say. The Procter then says Sasuke's battle will be postponed and they are going to jump ahead to the next battle. Shino and that sand shinobi are next. Suddenly he blurts out that he withdraws and the crowd gets even angrier. Which means Shikamaru is up next.

"Shikamaru!" I gasp. Hikaru looks annoyed and Zai looks confused. Temari gets to the arena first by flying on her fan. Shikamaru looks like he is squirming and Naruto pushes him and he falls of the ledge and falls back first into the arena.

"Alright Shika!" I shout. Ino starts cheering as well. He doesn't really look that excited. Shikamaru just lays there and people start to throw food at him. They keep booing.

"BOO! SHIKAMARU" Shouts Hikaru at the top of his lungs.

"Hey shut up!" I tell him with a fist. He sits back down and looks the other way. Temari starts running towards Shikamaru with her fan raised. She plans to crush him. The Procter didn't even say begin, but Shikamaru dodges it and is standing on his kunai on the wall. Temari gets angry and swipes her fan, but Shikamaru is gone.

Another blonde girl starts to cheer for him I look over and recognize her as the girl that was with Zai and that girl named Kaira.

"What a weenie, he's hiding in the trees!" Shouts Hikaru. This sure is a boring match so far. I figured Shikamaru would make things a little interesting. Temari uses her jutsu, the same one that she used to defeat me. I use my arms to block my face from the strong wind current that she made. He attempts to use his shadow possession jutsu, but it doesn't reach her. Shikamaru just sits there starring at the clouds like he does when I'm drawing.

"Come on Shikamaru.." I sigh and slump back in my chair. "You'd think he'd shake his laziness away for at least a good 30 minutes, but noo.."

Shikamaru just sits there doing something with his hands.

"Is he thinking?" I think to myself as I wait in anticipation for his next move. Temari reveals all three moons on her fan and Shikamaru hides behind a tree.

"Ugh.." I sigh. Shikamaru almost catches her in his shadow, but she jumps away again.

I see Shikamaru used his jacket as a parachute type thing to increase the length of his shadow. She moves again and places her fan in the ground and starts to think too. Suddenly she starts to make hand signs, but she freezes and Shikamaru's shadow becomes visible.

"Alright Shikamaru!" I shout jumping up and down. Suddenly he blurts out that he quits and Temari wins the match.

"ARG! Shikamaru!" I shout and sit back down. Hikaru starts laughing hysterically as the audience cheers.

Now it has to be Sasuke and Gaara's match, but still no Sasuke.

The crowd is getting very angry.

"Stupid Sasuke," yells Hikaru. Him and Zai start making fun of Sasuke and how lame he is for making everyone wait so long for him.

The Procter says the ten minutes of waiting are up.

"So the match is canceled.." I take a big sigh and put my things back into my backpack.

Suddenly Sasuke and Kakashi appear in the middle of the arena surrounded by leaves. Sasuke is wearing a different outfit.

"Well it's about time," I say calmly. The audience cheers and I look over by Sakura and Ino and see Lee with Guy-sensei.

"Lee!" I shout in excitement and wave. He smiles and waves back. I look at Gaara as Sasuke calls him to get down to the arena. His face turns into a creepy look and I get a shiver down my spine again.

"Yamouri?" Hikaru asks.

"Huh?" I turn towards him. I must have zoned out again. I look down and see Gaara has finally arrived in front of Sasuke. I get a knot in my stomach.

Finally the match begins.

"Have you noticed," Hikaru starts to whisper but in a very serious tone.

"Huh? Notice what?" I ask him. He looks around and then at me.

"There are Anbu black opps scattered all around the audience.

"What?"I ask shocked I look around and see for myself.

"Why are they here?" I think to myself. "Could they be here to make sure Gaara doesn't… No that can't be it…."

Suddenly Gaara's sand starts to come out of his gourd. I tighten my grip on the chair in front of me.

"So it's finally begun," I say. Gaara starts to hold his head and he starts to shake.

"What the?" I shout I stand in my chair to see what is going on. His sand falls to the ground. Sasuke throws a shuriken and Gaara's sand forms some sort of clone. Sasuke runs up to it and punches it and it grabs a hold of his hand.

"Oh man.." Hikaru says. Sasuke appears behind Gaara really fast, just like Lee.

"Geez he keeps stealing poor Lee's techniques," I say quietly. Sasuke punches his face and he flies back.

"When did Sasuke get so fast?" I gasp as he kicks Gaara in the air again.

"Man he is getting beat!" Shouts someone from behind as Sasuke continues hitting Gaara.

Gaara does a hand sign and forms some sort of ball around him.

"What is he planning on doing?" I think to myself as I examine it closely. "I've never seen anything like it." Sasuke runs up to it to punch and then spear like things stick out. An eyeball sort of thing starts to form above them.

"What the hell?" I shout. I hear Naruto yelling at Kakashi. Something about Gaara not even being human. I look down at the battle again. Sasuke attacks the ball shield thing again.

No matter where he hits the spears automatically shoot out at him.

"What is he doing in that ball?" Asks Zai totally confused at the whole situation.

"I'm getting a really bad feeling," I tell Hikaru and Zai. Their attention turns to me. The breeze changed.

"The same kind of feeling before Kento's betrayal. Why do I feel like that again right now?" I think to myself. Sasuke starts to form some sort of lightning ball in his hand.

"What he can use lightning?" I shout in shock. Sasuke starts to charge towards Gaara in his ball. He makes impact and breaks threw. Suddenly Gaara starts to scream. His scream makes me cover my ears.

"I've never heard something like that," I gasp. Some sort of arm thing comes out of Gaara's shield.

"What is that?" Hikaru shouts. Gaara's shield falls to the ground and he's holding his bleeding shoulder.

Suddenly white feathers start to fall from the sky and my vision starts to go blurry I look over at Hikaru and Zai who are lying on the ground. That breeze goes by again.

"Whaaat's happening…" I ask and fall back in my chair as it goes black.


	12. Chapter 12 Village Underattack

"What is this?" I ask myself. I look around at the very black room as white petals are falling down all around me.

"Where am I?" I look down and see even the floor is black. I feel around to see what this is.

"Genjutsu?" I think to myself as I continue looking around.

"Release!" I shout while doing my hand sign, but nothing happens.

"Hey Yamouri! Wake up!" I hear someone shout. I feel myself being shaken vigorously.

"Hey wake up!" Calls another voice. Two different set of hands are shaking me. I feel myself being shifted from left to right. Almost as if they are taking turns shaking me.

"Yamouri!" Shouts the voice again. I recognize the voice as Naruto's voice and slowly flutter my eyes open.

"Snap out of it!" Naruto says as he slaps my shoulder. I sit myself up and see Shikamaru and Naruto standing by. I look around the arena; and the whole crowd is knocked out.

"It's a drag, but someone did some sort of genjutsu on everyone," Shikamaru says. I can't believe I fell for that. I take a big sigh and stand myself up. I look over and see Hikaru and Zai completely knocked out as well.

"Watch out!" Shikamaru shouts and pushes me down as he falls too and lands on me. A few kunai zooms past us and I see Kakashi and Guy-sensei fighting off sound ninja. I push Shikamaru off and stand back up shocked.

"What's going on?" I ask confused at the sight.

"Yamouri,"Guy-sensei starts to say."You won't be able to go on the mission with Shikamaru, Naruto, Sakura and their dog, because we need your help here in the village."

"What mission?" I ask them.

"I suspect many sound and sand ninja are attacking the village," Kakashi adds. A ninja almost gets Naruto but Guy-sensei knocks him into the wall causing a big opening.

"Now I'll explain the mission, as soon as I do go threw that opening. First track down Sasuke and stop him. Then find a safe location and wait further orders," Kakashi says.

Naruto asks what happened to him and Sakura pulls him out threw the opening.

"Why me? What a drag," Shikamaru says. The dog looks at him annoyed.

"Listen whiner," it starts to talk. "Look if this mission is a success, as a reward I'll let you touch my paw, so there's no reason to sulk," he says.

"Whaat?" Shikamaru asks confused.

"Come on, their really soft," the dog says as he lifts his paw.

"Their whaaat?" He ask confused again. I let out a giggle. Then a ninja attacks from behind and I punch his face and he falls back.

The dog bites Shikamaru's hand and they run off. While Shikamaru lets out a big scream.

"Good luck guys!" I shout and continue to fight off another ninja that's running towards me.

Guy-sensei asks if they'll be ok by themselves and Kakashi sounds confident and says the dog will protect him.

"Are you sure? Yamouri could be of assistant," Guy-sensei answers him.

"Five is a crowd," Kakashi says. They both look back and see I've left threw the opening.

"Well looks like she's got a mind of her own," I hear Guy-sensei say and I continue running.

"Where do you think you're going!" Shouts a voice from behind. I see a sand ninja coming at me with a kunai in his hand.

"Invisible jutsu!" I shout. The ninja falls on the ground as he was attempting to attack me. I take my knife and stab his back and he stops moving after a few minutes.

"Oh I forgot my backpack," I say out loud. I start to head back to where I was earlier and see Guy-sensei and Kakashi aren't around. I go to my seat and see someone has put Hikaru and Zai into a cuddling position.

"What the heck?" I ask while laughing at them. "I had no idea they were such good friends." I grab my pack back and leave again in a hurry. I look at the sun and see a double rainbow around it.

"What the?" Suddenly my butterfly comes right by and stops and starts to go again.

"Do you want me to follow you?" I ask confused at its sudden appearance.

It continues going forward and I run after it.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Hey wait for me!" I shout. A bunch of Kunai come flying at me and kills some leaf shinobi that were right under me. I stop for a second and look around.

"This is bad, maybe I should stay here and help them," I tell the butterfly, but it starts to circle around me and cuts my face. I touch my cheek to wipe the trickle of blood. A squad of sand shinobi runs towards me.

"5...6..?" I say in my head.

"Alright let's do this!" My butterfly injects her poison into one of them and I do my hand signs as they start to throw a million kunai at me.

"Lightning style, Thunder up!" I shout as I concentrate my lightning chakra to my hands. I make my lightning balls and watch as a few clouds gather around me. I can't see them, but they can't see me either. I start to throw them at all directions and then use my barrier box technique to shield myself from the kunai. Once they hit the wall they fall to the ground. I hear their screams and know that it was a direct hit.

"Good work!" Shouts a leaf shinobi from behind me.

The butterfly seems like its urging me to follow it so I do again. It leads me right threw the woods and it's picking up its pace. I see foot prints on the ground and recognize one set to be of the dogs.

"So I'm getting closer," I tell myself as I stare at the butterfly.

"Where is it leading me to?" I think to myself. I look down and see Asuma with Shikamaru. I jump down to them and notice sound ninja lying around.

"Uh..." I say.

"Huh? Yamouri what are you doing here?" Asuma asks me. I see Shikamaru lying on the ground looking at the sky he lifts his head a little and looks at me.

"Uh…Well I was just following her," I say while pointing at the butterfly that's disappeared.

"What? Who?" Asuma asks confused. I make a face and look at the ground

"Never mind…" I mumble while feeling embarrassed. That stupid butterfly led me here for nothing.

"We better get back to the village as soon as possible," Asuma adds. Shikamaru stands up and brushes himself off.

"I thought you were supposed to stay back, why on earth would you come anyway?" Shikamaru asks. I glare at him and start to go back.

"Hey!" He says and him and Asuma start to come also.

"Arg! I'm going to get you back for this stupid insect!" I think to myself as I try and calm myself down. Shikamaru shows up right next to me and looks over at me. He makes a face and I look over and stick my tongue at him and move faster.

I hear Asuma sigh in the back and call us dramatic. He says we are acting childish and then we hear a big explosion sound and turn back.

"Could that be Sasuke finally caught up to him?" Shikamaru says out loud. I gasp and turn to him.

"He caught up to whom?" I ask.

"Gaara, remember?" He adds. I stare at the puff of smoke that arises and something tells me that I should go over there, but I don't know why.

"Yamouri….you zoned out again…" Shikamaru sighs.

"Oh sorry," I tell him and we start to head as fast as possible to the village.

~.::.::.::.::.::. ~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::. ~

The village is looking horrible. Ninjas everywhere fighting each other, and to think we were suppose to be allies.

"Watch out!" Yells Asuma. Sand ninja attack us from behind and I use my invisible jutsu and take them all out in a matter of seconds. Shikamaru smirks and has a big grin on his face.

"I didn't even need to break a sweat," he says sarcastically. I slap the back of his neck and he almost falls over. He gives me an annoyed look while he stands back up.

"Women are such a drag," he says. I attempt to do it again and he grabs my hand.

"I'm not a woman idiot," I tell him angrily. "Do I look that old to you?" He gives me a nervous look and Asuma blocks some kunais that could have killed us.

"Would you two focus!" He shouts.

I push Shikamaru to his butt and help Asuma fight off the sound and sand.

"Lightning style, Thunder up!" I shout. The sand shinobi didn't stand a chance.

Shikamaru attempts to do his shadow possession, but he fails.

"What's wrong with you?" I ask while finishing off another one.

"I ran out of chakra," he says blankly.

"Think fast brat!" Says a voice from behind as he locks his arm around my neck and pulls me towards his body with a kunai to my neck.

"Yamouri!" Shouts Shikamaru.

"Say goodbye to your girlfriend!" He shouts and just when he's about to stab me I elbow his gut and kick his face breaking his neck.

"I'm not his girlfriend!" I say angrily as he falls to the ground.

"Uhh…" Shikamaru says.

"I'll catch up with you later," I tell him as I start to run towards where I last saw Lee.

More kunais fly towards me and I block them again.

"Geez! These people just won't quit!" I yell. More of them come at me.

"Leave me alone! I don't have time to waste!"

"Piercing Lightning jutsu!" Through the use of this technique, I'm able to channel lightning chakra through any object and give it a piercing tip and/or cutting edge. If the charge is put on a weapon that can already pierce or cut, then the edge is made keener. I throw multiple kunai while using this jutsu and wipe out about twenty men. I already feel exhausted.

"Great! That might have used up all my chakra," I gasp and then continue running. The village needs my help.

I look over at a roof top and see a giant black barrier on it.

"A barrier?" I gasp. The inside is surrounded by what looks like a forest. "What's going on?"

I look around and see lots of Leaf shinobi on the ground and black smoke coming from inside different buildings

"Take this little girl!" Someone punches my back and I fly forward. I shake a bit as I try and stand back up.

"Don't even try it!" He shouts as he pulls my hair. Suddenly he falls to the ground. I look up to see what happened and see an Anbu black op walking towards me.

"Thanks, "I say as I stand myself up.

"You've done well, leave the rest to us," he says and then disappears. I look over and see Ino, Choji and Shikamaru's dads working together while fighting off the rest of the ninja.

"I better go find Lee," I tell myself as I start to run towards the direction of the arena. I see Guy-sensei and Kakashi are gone and ninjas lying around everywhere.

I wake up Zai and Hikaru and catch them up on everything. I look over at where the barrier was and see my sensei and other leaf shinobi as well. They're all looking down at something.

"Ow my head hurts," Hikaru says while scratching himself.

"Wait here," I tell them and rush over to where they are. I see the hokage lying on the ground with some sort of mark visible on his chest.

I gasp and stare at the sight in shock. "Is he….Dead?" I ask Guy-sensei. He nods and places his hand on my shoulder. I look down at the ground.

~.::.::.::.::.::. ~ Shortly after ~.::.::.::.::.::. ~

I wake up and know today is going to be a gloomy day. Today is the hokage's funeral. I look outside and see that it looks like it might rain actually quit fitting for the day. I have flashbacks of how kind he was after what had happened and let me stay here.

I put on a black skirt and black half sleeve shirt. I slightly brush my hair and head out the door. I look up at the cloudy sky and sigh.

"I hate days like this," I say and start to run to where I'm suppose to meet up with Lee and Neji. We walk over and see the Hokage's picture on a mantle and then it starts to rain.

~.::.::.::.::.::. ~ Flashback ~.::.::.::.::.::. ~

"The tombstone arrangements for you family are set," The hokage said. "Would you like to go see them?"

"No," I said harshly. He placed his hand on my shoulder and told me it was ok to cry, but all my tears had already fallen.

~.::.::.::.::.::. ~ End of flashback ~.::.::.::.::.::. ~

One at a time people start to lay white flowers on his mantle. I look down at my flower and then it's my turn to place my flower.

"Thank you," I whisper and place it on the mantle. I go back and stand next to Lee. Suddenly the rain stops and the clouds begin to part as the sun makes its way back out. The light shines bright on his picture and it feels like the sadness has been lifted a little, but not all of it.

"Let's go," Neji says in a clam tone. Lee comes too still on his crutches and we walk off as the sun shines bright over the village.


	13. Chapter 13 Big food contest

I take a seat on a bench right by where a new nest as been filled with baby birds.

"Ugh I don't know what to think anymore," I sigh as I place my head down between my knees.

"Hey," Says a voice kind of familiar. I shoot my head up and see myself facing Sasuke Uchiha.

"What could he want?" I think to myself as I stare at his face. I look back down.

"Oh, it's just you," I sigh again. He takes a seat next to me on the bench and he looks like he's thinking hard about something.

"I just need a place that's quiet, you don't mind if I seat here right?" He asks. I nod no and then look away. This is a little awkward for me. I remember Guy-sensei's words that I was just like him, but I still don't know what that means. Or why he called himself an avenger during the Chuunin exams.

"Listen, Sasuke," I start to say as he jerks his head over at me. "Why did you tell Sakura you were an avenger?" I ask. I know it might be a little rude since we don't exactly talk on a regular basis, but I can't help but be curious.

"Why do you want to know?" He asks trying to change the subject. I know now that this is surely a touchy subject; therefore something must have happened that made him want to go after someone.

"Guy-sensei said I was like you," I tell him. He just stares at me confused not knowing exactly what I'm talking about.

"You see, I have a goal to avenge my family and village," I say a hostile tone. His eyes widen and he looks like he's seen a ghost or something.

"I see, then you and I are in a way similar," he says. Now it's my turn to widen my eyes and look at him confused.

"One day I will avenge and restore my clan," he says calmly as he stands up and starts to walk away. The birds chirping is all that I can hear as it seems to go dead silence

"I see, Oh and Sasuke," I start to say, but he turns around and grins.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," he says and he walks off. I pick up my sketch book and begin to doodle.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere," I hear Neji say. I spin around real fast and nearly bump into him.

"Oh Neji…" I laugh nervously. I was suppose to meet him this morning to train, but forgot when I was thinking on that bench.

He sighs and says he's going to train differently today and that he'll see me later and he starts to walk off.

"Well ok! Bye Neji," I say while waving. I start to walk off into the village looking for something to do. It's been a few days since the funeral and some people already seem over it.

"What to do today?" I ask cheerfully while waving at familiar people. I feel so good today minus the slight headache.

"Ugh!'I cough.

"Hey Yamouri," I hear from behind and turn around and see Choji eating his chips.

"Oh! Choji, thank goodness, I was beginning to think I would be a loner today," I tell him. He just gives me a blank look and continues eating his chips.

"I hope today isn't boring," I sigh.

"There you are Choji!" I hear Shikamaru's voice and turn to him then look away and roll my eyes.

"Oh it's you…" we both say in unison then glare at each other. Choji rolls his eyes.

"Why don't we go get some barbeque?" He says.

"Of course you're always hungry, but don't you think you're a little f…." Before I could finish Shikamaru runs to me and covers my mouth with his hand.

"Hmmnum," I mumble confused.

"Oh man that was a close one," He tells me while sighing. "Are you forgetting you never say that word to Choji?" He says.

"Huh?" I ask confused. He gives me a weird look.

"I think she meant you should watch your weight because you're a little chunky," Says a voice from behind us.

"Oh man…" Shikamaru says as he drags me out of the way.

"What did you say Hikaru," Choji says in a creepy voice as he slowly turns his head to him.

"You heard me fatty chicken!" Hikaru says while flapping his arms trying to be a chicken.

"Oh my gosh is he trying to commit suicide?" I shout as I cover my eyes.

"Serves him right," Shikamaru says with a grin as we see Hikaru run as fast as he can from a running Choji.

"I bet he wet himself," Shikamaru says with a little laugh. He is obviously really enjoying this.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

Choji comes back and he looks calm, I look around and see no Hikaru to be found.

"Uhh…Choji…Where's Hikaru?" I ask scared of the answer. He just glares at me.

"He's in a better place now," he says and walks into the food place.

"Why would you almost call him that word if you knew what he does when he hears it?" Shikamaru whispers.

"I was going to say full…geez!" I hiss at him and give him a slight push and go in before him.

We seat at one of the booths and I check to see if my mushroom I put in my pocket this morning is still there.

"I could eat a horse!" Choji shouts excitedly as they start to serve our food.

"You could eat a building if there was frosting on it," I think to myself. I see Shikamaru lay back and sigh. I kick him under the table and he gives me glare.

"That's for touching my mouth with your dirty hand earlier," I tell him.

"Oh boy, look at all this food!" Choji shouts as he starts to stuff his face. I wonder how he would feel if someone beat him at a food contest.

"Choji you should slow down," I tell while he stuffs more and more into his mouth.

Some of the food splatters onto my face and I give him a death glare.

"Ugh! Slow down!" I say again as I take a spoonful of my soup and Choji's enthusiasm for the food spills my soup on the table.

"Oh my god…" I say bluntly. I take out my mushroom and examine it under the table and then I shove the whole thing in my mouth.

"What is that?" Shikamaru asks while watching me try to choke it down.

"Mushnumhmh…" I mumble.

"Whaaaat?" He asks again. I lay my head down on the table and wait for the effects to take place.

"Yamouri?" Shikamaru asks while coming closer to my head. In a hurry I pop back up and hit his face and he falls back.

"Ow my nose!" He says while holding his face.

I then order a bunch of different foods and Choji sees this and orders more as well.

"Is that all you can manage Chojister?" I ask him mockingly while sticking my tongue at him. The food arrives and we are both tempted to shove it at once, but we need to take our time.

"Ready to get owned Choji?" I shout enthusiastically.

"Oh you're going down Kesaki!" He shouts and we both begin to shove our faces. Food is flying everywhere, a piece of shrimp lands on Shikamaru's face and Choji and I jump forward and attack him while trying to get it.

"It's mine!" We both say while he nearly falls out of the booth.

"Aahh! You guys!" He says then shrugs it off as we continue eating.

"Oh man… what a drag," he says. I throw some lettuce at his face and he makes a pout face and puts his head on the table.

"Whooo!" I shout as I finish my last bowl of food at the same time Choji has.

"Don't come crying to me when your stomach hurts later, Yamouri," Shikamaru says sarcastically.

"More please!" I shout and Choji does the same.

"I'm going to beat you Choji!" I shout in his face. I can already feel some of the food wanting to come back up and I bite my tongue and swallow it.

"What's wrong Yamouri? Can't handle the third round?" Choji says in challenging tone.

"Don't encourage her, she looks like she'll blow any moment," Shikamaru adds.

"Isn't this delicious?" Choji whispers in my ear.

"It's about to go down Kesaki style!" I shout and stuff as much food as possible. They both look shocked and then Choji starts to eat again.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Ugh I can't eat another bite…" I sigh deeply as I lay back in my chair. Shikamaru's hair and face is full of food and he didn't even eat anything.

"You look stupid!" I giggle at Shikamaru who sighs. I look over at Choji who fell asleep on the table.

"I guess I win!" I shout cheerfully and throw up under the table.

I collapse to the ground and Shikamaru comes over to my side.

"Oh man I think you over did it," he says quietly. I roll on my tummy and hold it as I feel myself want to vomit again.

~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few hours later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Hey are you feeling better?" Shikamaru asks as I slowly open my eyes from my nap. I see we're right below the tree we usually hang out at and I slowly sit myself up.

"What happened? Where's Choji?" I gasp while looking around he points over to my left and I see Choji happily taking a nap.

"I pigged out huh?"I ask Shikamaru while remembering me stuffing my face. A different side of me came out today. I guess you can call it the wild side or the pig side. Either way I sure showed Choji.

"Yeah I hardly recognized you there," he says with a grin. I sit myself up and feel a slight headache.

"Why do you like hanging here?" I ask him. It slipped out, but I've always wondered why he would take the time to come here if he's so lazy to even go for a walk.

"Because I can take a quiet nap…"He says nervously. I smile at him I start to stand up and feel someone slap my back which shocked me and I trip forward. My lips press against Shikamaru's chin and it seems like everything has been put on pause. I fall on my knees and my face has turned bright red. I look up and see Shikamaru's face is beet red as well.

"I've been looking all over for you guys!" Shouts Hikaru.

"That was so close…" I think to myself. Trying to shake the image out of my head.

I stand myself up and brush myself avoiding eye contact with Shikamaru.

"Thanks for making it awkward!" I think to myself. I thought Choji did a number on him. I glare at Hikaru, but he's so dumb he doesn't even sense the evil aura I'm giving him.

"Yamouri! I was going to tell you something, but I forgot!" Hikaru shouts while he pushes Shikamaru on his butt. He puts his arm around me and drags me off.

"Hikaru, I've had enough of your nonsense," I start to say and see Shikamaru and him are about to get into a fist fight.

"Would you two quit acting like you're five!" I shout angrily. I start to storm off avoiding eye contact still.

"Uh…Yamouri.." Hikaru says quietly.

"What?" I shout back.

"You have a leaf stuck to your butt," he says nervously.

"Why are you looking there?" I shout as I start to walk away again.

"Oh man.." I hear Shikamaru sigh.

"Yamouri you forgot your sketch book," Hikaru says. I jump at this realization and start to rush back and see Hikaru is about to look threw it.

"Don't you ever look in here!" I shout as I try and regain my composure. Hikaru looks scared and Shikamaru confused. I've never and I mean never let anyone look in here. Even Shikamaru who was beside me when I drew most of what's inside has never took a peek inside.

"It has some personal things is all…" I say sweetly seeing how mean I was.

"Oh…well sorry for looking at it," he says shyly while scratching his head.

I take a big sigh and feel my face is still a bit red from all that has just happen. I look over at Shikamaru who is avoiding eye contact as well. He's trying to look innocent. I apologize for being rude, but don't say a word to Shika.

"What's all the commotion about?" Asks Choji as he sits himself from his nap. Thank goodness for a topic change.

"Just Hikaru causing more trouble," Says Shikamaru with a smirk. Hikaru threatens to hit his face.

"Yamouri…" I hear a voice call. I turn around and see Neji standing by a tree.

"Oh Neji?" I ask as I ditch them and start to walk over.

"Whose that again?" Hikaru whispers to Shikamaru.

"That's her teammate. Don't you remember from the Chuunin Exams?" He replies annoyed.

"He's ugly," he says kind of loud. Neji and I both jerk our heads back at him.

"What did you say?" Neji asks annoyed.

"It was nothing let's go…" I tell him while trying to pull his arm to go, but he stays put.

Finally after a bit of convincing we walk off and I wave good bye at them. Well maybe not Hikaru.


	14. Chapter 14 A new mission

"Who is that idiot?" Neji asks.

"Oh, don't worry about him," I tell him.

"So are we going to go train?" I ask.

"No I was thinking we could eat lunch and go see Lee," he says. I stare at his face for a moment. Something's weird.

"Neji usually never acts this nice," I think to myself.

"Well you see I've already eaten a lot of food today," I tell him trying not to vomit remembering my incident earlier.

"Well we could skip that then," he says and we start to walk off to the hospital.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few days later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

We got a new hokage the other day. It's a woman for a change which might be good since we all kind of need a fresh start.

"There you are," says a voice. I sit myself up and see Neji walking towards me.

"Oh hey Neji," I say.

"We have to go meet the new hokage," he says.

"Oh I thought we already did…?" I reply.

"No we have a mission," he adds. I think back to poor Lee who is still recovering and still needs crutches.

We walk up the stairs and knock on her door and she says we can come in, I've only seen her twice since she's been here.

According to Naruto she's suppose to be an old lady in her 50's. She looks so young and healthy though it's sort of hard to believe.

"Neji and Yamouri, I'm assigning you a simple escort mission, a boy by the name of Henkai Yoshiga. He is to be escorted to the village hidden in the mist. The mission shouldn't take long. As you know though… You're missing your third teammate…" Lady Tsunade says.

"I'll leave it up to you two to figure out who you want to take in his place. Report back to me and you guys can head out in about 2 hours," She finishes. We agree and walk out.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ Flashback~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Hey Lee, I brought you some cookies," I said as I entered his room. He still looked depressed. I heard the diagnosis Lady Tsunade made and could see why he is. There's a very little chance he can ever be a ninja again…

"Thank you… Yamouri…" he said faintly while mopping.

"So I was thinking maybe I can take you to go get something delicious to eat as my treat," I said with a smiled. He looked up at me and then grabbed his crutches.

"I don't feel like going out right now…" he said and limped out of the room.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ End of Flashback~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Maybe I can ask Shikamaru…?" I tell him. He nods and looks like he's thinking.

"Henkai Yoshiga huh?" I think to myself as I let Neji stress about who are third teammate will be.

"Guess we have no other choice…" Neji finally says. I turn to him and tilt my head.

"We'll have to ask if Naruto isn't doing anything," he says.

"Done!" I'll be right back, wait here Neji," I say and start to run off. It's lunch time so Naruto most likely is hanging out eating some ramen.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Please Naruto!" I ask again. He turns his head.

I take a big breathe and let it out with a sigh.

"When we get back I promise I'll pay for you're ramen," I tell him. It goes quiet for a second and he jumps out of his chair.

"Let's go!" He shouts and starts to walk off.

"Well that wasn't so hard…" I whisper to myself.

I lead Naruto to where Neji is waiting and Neji looks annoyed of Naruto. They exchange glances and don't say anything.

"Well at least they aren't trying to kill each other…" I think to myself. I grab my backpack which was waiting by Neji and swing it over onto my back.

"Alright, ready go?" I ask them. They nod and place their backpacks on their backs as well and we start to leave the village. After a few minutes of walking I look back and can no longer see the village.

"So who's this Henkai Yoshiga person?" Naruto asks.

"I don't know, Tsunade didn't say much except that we have to escort him. I think we're supposed to meet him any minutes because he was on his way over here," I tell him. Neji starts to look around and I do too. We hear a carriage like sound and stop in our tracks.

"Could that be him?" I ask. Neji uses his Byakugan and after a few seconds he says he thinks so.

We wait for it to reach us and as it gets closer one of the wheels break and it falls to the side as a boy flies out of it.

"WHOA!" He shouts as he lands face first into a pile of dirt.

"You gotta be kidding me that guy is who were escorting?" Naruto says.

"Hey!" I shout as I run over to him. "Are you Henkai?" I ask noticing the type of silk robe he's wearing. He stares at me with his mouth open and he blushes and falls back down.

"Oww…" he says quietly. Neji and Naruto walk over to us and Henkai stands himself up.

"Are you guys my ninja escorts?" He says in a manner that implies he is not pleased.

"Pretty much," Naruto says. "You don't look like anyone important…"

"I beg your pardon?" Henkai says in an annoyed tone as he glares at Naruto then points his head up to ignore him.

"You guys were supposed to walk along side my carriage, but… Where's my horse?" He shouts noticing it's gone.

"It left awhile ago…" I add.

"Why didn't you guys try and stop it?" He says almost about to cry. This guy looks like our age and he's gonna cry over a horse. He's got black hair in a braid and dark small eyes he's kind of short also.

"Well since it's your fault my horse ran away I guess one of you guys will have to carry me," he says. Neji and I give him a weird look and he looks at Naruto.

"What? No way!" He shouts and points at Henkai. "You have legs walk yourself!"

After a few more minutes of arguing we finally start to head off towards the right direction.

"I asked for high ranked ninja not little kids," he says.

"Do not under estimate us," Neji says.

"Aren't you a kid yourself? We were expecting someone older too," I add

"I am the head son of the Yoshiga clan," Henkai says.

"So why exactly do we need to escort you, you don't seem important…" Naruto whispers

"Because Naruto, I am the head son and my father needs me to attend tasks there, but people might come after me!" Henkai says a bit annoyed.

"Oh I bet you're shaking!" Naruto says sarcastically.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few hours later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"I think that's enough rest we should continue on," Naruto says eagerly.

"It's almost nightfall; it'll be more dangerous to travel right now, especially because we're going to need a boat soon," Neji tells him. Naruto looks annoyed and goes and sits by himself on a rock. Henkai prepares his place on the floor, surprised he isn't complaining about that.

"Should we take turns keeping watch?" I ask Neji as he starts to light the fire.

"Yeah I suppose…" He says.

"I call first shift," I say confidently. The sky is starting to darken and the stars are slowly coming into focus in the sky. A few minutes later I see Everyone is already asleep except Neji.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ The next morning ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Ready to go?" I ask. Henkai looks around cautiously then nods.

"So do you do anything for fun?" I ask him trying to lighten up the mood as no one wants to look at each other.

"I don't do much…" Henkai replies. I give him a smile then look forward. Suddenly Neji pushes me on the ground and he falls on me. An ambush of kunai knives fly everywhere and I see Naruto has already gotten Henkai out of the way.

"That was close…" I say as I stand up.

"Which angle Neji?" I ask as I see him scanning.

"There!" He says and points.

"Alright no more hiding!" I shout as I run towards there.

"Lightning style, earth flash!" I shout and they jump out towards us.

"Can I help you?" I ask while taking out a kunai.

"Give us the boy and we won't cause anymore trouble…" Says one of the men.

"Sorry, but you might as well walk away now," Neji adds.

"That's not part of our mission," Says one of them and he comes at me and flash steps and appears behind me and grabs me by the neck. I use a substitution as a log falls on the ground.

Neji uses his gentle fist and then Naruto comes in with his clones as I stop Henkai from running.

"You idiot! You're not supposed to run away from us! We have to protect you," I tell him while dodging an attack and using my barrier shield.

"Whoa…" He says in amazement as he stares at it. After a few minutes of fighting we defeat them. There were three total. Neji scans the area to see if there's more.

"I think it's clear for now," he says.

"Are you ok Henkai?" He looks at me and slightly blushes then averts his eyes and mumbles something.

"Look over!" Naruto shouts. We look over and see heavy mist dispersing. I guess it's time to get in a boat. We can't even see ahead really. There's heavy mist that surrounds this whole area.

Neji goes and talks to this guy and asks if we could use a boat. Henkai makes sure all his things are in and starts complaining on how we let everything get all dirty.

"You guys should have been more careful…" he says. Naruto rolls his eyes and tells him to shut up.

"Aright let's go," Neji says. We head down to the dock and I get an ominous feeling.

"Yamouri are you coming?' Neji says from behind. I see everyone is already inside the boat.

"Sorry…"

"You guys did a good job back there," Henkai adds while starring at the ground.

"It was nothing!" Naruto says excitedly. Naruto starts rambling on about how awesome he is and all this other stuff. Neji sits there with his arms crossed trying to tune everybody out. I lean over a little over the edge and feel the air getting a little cold.

"Oh!" I shout as I fall into the water.

"Yamouri?" Naruto and Henkai say as they look over.

I pop my head up from the water and Naruto immediately starts to laugh and point and Henkai starts to laugh too.

"Look at your face!" They shout. I splash a bunch of water at them and hit Neji in the face.

"Would you guys quit fooling around," he says. They help me back into the boat and I sit there and dry myself.

"How much longer?" I ask the man whose paddling the boat.

"It's hard to say…" he replies.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few hours later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"We're here," says the man waking up Henkai from his nap. He takes a look at the village and freezes.

"Are you coming?" I ask noticing his hesitation.

"Oh… yeah…" he says and takes his things.

"We're supposed to escort you all the way to your uncle's house, I believe," I remind him. He nods and looks around cautiously.

"Is there something you haven't told us?" I ask.

He looks like he's about to vomit and he does all over Naruto's feet.

"Why me?" Naruto shouts.

"That's gross…" I add while trying not to laugh. Then remembering my incident on the boat and point at Naruto and let out a good laugh. He glares at me.

"So what exactly do you need to do here?" I ask Henkai as we start walking towards the location.

"Just some deeds…" He says quietly. Naruto is walking up ahead with Neji. So I figure this is a good opportunity.

"Did you want to come or did someone make you?" I ask examining his facial expression it seems like I hit the mark.

"Whoa!" I shout as I fall forward and notice I tripped on a pebble.

"Wow! You sure like the ground Yamouri," Naruto says with a grin and a malevolent giggle.

"Do you like it when Sakura hits you?" I ask him standing up. He takes a step back.

"No…" He mumbles. I smack the back of his head and he goes dizzy for a bit. Henkai looks scared and Neji just smirks at Naruto's misfortune.

"Next time I'll use my belt," I tell him.


	15. Chapter 15 Return of an Old Friend

After a few minutes we arrive at Henkai's uncle's house. His uncle seemed nice and Henkai said that this was as far as we could take him. He thanks us and tells Naruto that maybe sometime in the future if they meet again he's looking forward to seeing Naruto acting his age. Naruto starts to yell at him. I drag him away and Neji calls for us.

"Hey can we get something to eat while we're here? I'm starving…" Naruto adds as we walk by a restaurant.

"That does sound like a good idea," I add and we both look at Neji to see what he has to say.

"Fine," he sighs and Naruto and I race and I win and get there first.

"Silly Naruto don't even try," I add as I take a seat first. Neji looks irritated and I smile at him to ease the tension.

"Let's eat fast so we can go and report back to Lady Tsunade," Neji says.

"Come on! That granny can wait another hour," Naruto says as we start to order.

"Are you going to get anything Neji?" I ask noticing him not showing any sort of enthusiasm.

"I'm not hungry…" he adds. Naruto mumbles under his breathe that he's a party pooper and Neji ignores it.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"I told you not to eat it…" I tell Naruto as he holds his stomach. He tried to eat a giant bowl of spicy curry

"Serves him right," Neji adds with a smirk. I let out a laugh at Naruto's face expression.

I get a weird feeling like a knot in my stomach. I see the mist is starting to clear and we start to take the trail that leads to the docks. It's about a 20 minute walk. Because there is so much mist we can't really see ahead. Neji's face seems to suddenly focus on something ahead.

"What's wrong Neji?" I ask with curiosity and look at the direction he's starring at. Two figures start to emerge from the mist. For a minute I think it's an Akatsuki member because one of them is wearing a black cape like thing. Then as he gets closer I see it's just a plain black coat. His hood is zipped up and the front part of the cape covers his face. A man with a mask like Kakashi's comes along side this man he has messy blondish brown hair.

"It's nothing," Neji adds and we continue walking ahead as the two men are walking our direction. I get that knot in my chest. When I walk by them I feel my stomach sink and then I get this rush. I look at him as he lifts his head and we lock eyes. He has the biggest blue eyes and for some reason they seem so familiar. He looks away and continues walking ahead as I walk away from him.

"Could it be the mist that's giving me this weird feeling?" I think to myself. I drop my knife pouch and take a second to pick it up and Neji and Naruto are way up ahead.

"Hurry up Yamouri!" Shouts Naruto while pouting.

"Ok…." I say back quietly. The man in the cape stops walking. I feel a pulsing sound in my head and my heart starts to beat faster. It suddenly feels so hard to breathe as the mist thickens. I turn around and I just keep starring back at this mysterious man. He turns around towards me and the guy next to him notices his sudden stop and eyes me carefully.

"Those eyes….There's something about those eyes…" I think to myself. I gasp and feel myself go still as if I've been paralyzed.

"It couldn't be…" I think to myself as I try and reach for my knife Naruto and Neji start to walk back and the man unzips the top of his jacket revealing the rest of his face. He has a giant scar on his cheek.

"Ken…." I stutter.

"Yamouri..?" Neji asks.

"Move!" I think to myself as I try and go forward. "This is what I've been waiting for, move!"

"It's been a long time hasn't it Yamouri…." He finally says.

"I thought I finished you off long ago…Don't you remember?" He says quietly.

"What did he say?" Naruto asks in confusion.

"That voice…" I whisper. "Why is he here? Why now…? Could this really be him?"

In a blink of an eye he's jumped forward and his head is by my ear I can feel his breathe on my neck its like time has suddenly stopped because what is only seconds seems like hours.

"What's wrong Yamouri?" He whispers in my ear. He punches me so hard in the stomach and I fly back and Neji catches me.

"Aahh…" I gasp as a gush of blood comes out of my mouth.

'Hey what was that for!" Naruto shouts angrily. He puts down his hood and Naruto stands there ready to charge, but suddenly he hesitates and stares at him like he's seen a ghost.

"Yamouri, isn't this guy from that picture in your house?" He says as he turns around just as shocked as me.

"Who is this guy?" Naruto asks. I go on my knees and Neji tries and helps me to stand up.

"Weak as ever I suppose…" Kento says without changing his expression.

"Don't tell me your little friends don't know about your little story?" He says in a calm voice.

"Who are you!" Naruto shouts.

"Why don't you ask her," He replies back. Naruto looks back at me and I tighten my fist.

"Yamouri who is this man?" Neji asks.

"It's none of your concern…" I snap at him.

Kento smirks and I reach for my kunai knives.

"Just shut up!" I shout at the top of my lungs and attempt to throw my kunai knife, but he's so fast and is already in front of me holding down my hand. Neji and Naruto barely have time to react as well because it was so fast. His grip is so firm as I try and let my hand loose he starts to twist it without even trying.

"You monster…!" I shout. All the memories and emotions that I've suppressed for so long suddenly start to flow out.

"Let her go!" Naruto shouts as he comes at him.

"Stay out of this!" I shout at him and the other guy comes out of nowhere and holds him back.

"Do you want to know who I am?" Kento says while looking at Neji and Naruto.

"Shut up!" I yell in anger.

"I am the boy who destroyed the Kesaki name," He says. I just about stab him with my other hand and he grabs that too. I try to kick him, but feel as if my legs have gone to sleep and I can't move them. He starts to turn my wrists and I feel as if he's trying to rip my arms off. I keep trying to push him back, but it's like he's holding me back without even trying.

"All this time and you're still as weak as ever!" He shouts "How long has it been…7 years?"

"Kento!" Shouts the other man.

"Ugh!" I yell and he lets go and appears by his friend again.

"Let's go…" He adds.

"Stop!" I shout He turns back at me and I remember that look back when we were kids.

"You're a waste…" he says and disappears in the mist.

I fall on my knees and grab on to my stomach.

"Yamouri!" Shouts Neji as he runs to me with Naruto.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone about this…" I say coldly. They look at me with confusion and nod as my head falls on the ground and I feel a sharp pain.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ Two days later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I open my eyes and see I'm in the leaf village hospital.

"What…Happened?" I whisper as I look around. I quickly lay back down when I get a sharp headache. I wait a few minutes and sit up again. I get out of bed and feel an intense pain in my stomach. I feel bandages around my waist and quickly sit back on the bed.

"I remember now…" I see a vase with flowers on it on my bed stand and slap it and it falls to the ground as the water splashes on to my feet.

I bite my lip as I try not to sob and grab my things as I hear a nurse coming down the hall to my room. I change my clothes quickly and I go out threw the window and slide down a tree. I start to walk home. Still feeling extremely weak. The whole time I've been holding onto my stomach.

"He was too strong for me…" I think to myself. I clench my fist and slam it into a tree and fall on my knees.

"I need to train more…" I say quietly.

"There you are…" I hear a voice say. I look up and see Shikamaru looking down at me.

"I'm pretty sure you weren't allowed to leave yet…" he adds. I examine his face. I wonder if he knows... I wonder if the whole village already knows. My secret as been exposed. And my name put to shame. I'm one of the last Kesaki and I couldn't even defend myself.

"What's wrong?" He asks noticing my hand that's bruised now.

"Did Naruto or Neji tell you anything?" I ask in a serious tone. He looks a bit taken back and says no.

"Naruto said you just injured yourself in a fight…"Shikamaru says a bit confused now.

"Oh…" I add and grab my things and start to walk off.

"Hey…"He says. I turn back around and face him, he eyes me carefully.

"Did something else happen?" He asks.

"No," I fake a smile and continue to walk off. "Nothing at all."

"What's gotten into her?" Shikamaru thinks to himself.

"Oh Yamouri is that you?" Shouts Hikaru as he runs towards me. I continue to walk by looking at the ground.

"Are you ok? I heard you…" He starts to say.

"I'm ok Hikaru," I say rather coldly. He got the message because he walks off and I finally return home. The events keep playing over and over again in my head and I feel as if any moment I could burst.

"Damn…" I mumble as I slam the table and lay my head on it.

"I thought I was stronger than that…"I whisper to myself.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ Later that day~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I hear something break in my house. I wake up and see one of my glass cups have fallen. I realize I fell asleep.

"It's already 9…" I say quietly looking around in my dark kitchen.

"I think I should go for a walk to clear my head…" I say. I notice my pocket knife on the table and take it with me.

I look up at the sky and see the stars are coming out. I decide to walk out further away from the village so the lights won't interfere and I can see them in peace.

I see Shikamaru and Choji and hide behind a cart. I don't want to talk to anyone right now and it be hard to get rid of them.

I take the long way and cut threw the woods and arrive at this hill and take a seat by this tree. I see something glowing in the bushes and see fireflies start to come out.

I lay back and watch for awhile and notice one of the stars are twinkling.

"That star…" I think to myself as I throw a rock over the hill.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ Flashback~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"You see that star Yamouri?" Kento said as he pointed at the exact same spot.

"Yeah..." I said.

"That could be your star from now on, kay? I'm naming it after you," He said with a warm smile.

"Aww why me?" I asked.

"Because you're my best friend," he said.

"Well then I want to give you a star too," I added and picked one for him.

"The one next to it will always be your star, that way we'll never be far apart," I told him. His face had brightened up and then we started playing a sword game with sticks. We could have played the whole night, but my brother had come looking for me.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ End of Flashback~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Why do I remember such things…All that's in the past now…" I whisper to myself.

I stare at the two stars for a second and see that Kento's stare begins to fade.

"What the?" I say out loud.

"Maybe it was in my imagination…" I add. I get up and take my pocket knife and walk to the training grounds. As usual no one is ever here at this time. I begin to go over my jutsus and try to master one in the scroll.

"I'm not going to give up!" I think to myself as I try for it again.

I use my sword for a bit, but as usual it wears down my hands. I look at how damaged they look and continue going at it.

"If you're not willing to suffer then you won't earn a thing," I tell myself. I think back to the time I got upset and threw it on the ground.

"I don't know how you did that, but I want you to show me!" I shout at it. I attempt a lighting jutsu with it and feel it flow threw my body. My heart starts to beat faster and I can feel the power flowing threw. It feels amazing, but as quickly as it came it's gone.

"If I lose to you again then I won't know what to do with myself," I say quietly while looking at the sky.

"If you're watching, brother, I'm sorry. Next time I'll make you proud. Next time I won't be scared."


	16. Chapter 16 Yamouri's Stress

"You're late…" Neji says as I arrive at the training ground. I'm so use to seeing Lee or waiting for him and knowing that he's not coming makes me sad.

"Sorry…" I say quietly trying to avoid eye contact.

"He knows now…There's no running away from that…" I think to myself while looking at his feet.

"Well we don't have all day, let's begin…" he says I nod and get into my battle stance.

"Ready…when you are…" I add. I look up at him and throw some knives at him.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"You're not even trying…" He says rather irritated.

"I'm sorry…" I add. He apologizes and looks at the bird that flies over above.

"I haven't seen your butterfly in awhile…" he adds. I snap my head up at the realization.

"That is odd…" I add.

"Why don't you take the rest of the day off?" He says.

'No!" I say angrily. He'll stop taking me seriously if I give up now.

I go to my separate area and begin going over it again.

"Yamouri…" Guy sensei says from behind me. I didn't even notice when he came.

"Why don't you go take a break, I need to talk to Neji for a sec," he says. I hesitate and then start to walk off. I look back at them and see Guy-sensei is watching to make sure that I actually do leave.

I need to find someone who can teach me how to use the scroll with my family name on it. I also need to learn new types of jutsus and how to master that stupid sword. I look down at my hands and their scars. I think back to how the lightning just sucked into it and then went threw my body. If only I knew someone who could possibly know all that. I start to watch the clouds as I walk back into town.

"There you are," I hear a voice. I turn around and see Shikamaru carrying a box.

"Lady Tsunade had me pick this up for her," Shikamaru starts to say. He looks annoyed. Today is kind of like his day off and he has to keep running errands.

"It's such a drag…" he whines.

"Oh…" I say quietly.

"You don't look so good…" He says. I make an annoyed face and avert my eyes.

"Thanks…." I say.

"Wait! Ugh…Oh man I didn't mean it like that…" He stutters nervously.

"Yeah…" I say and start to walk away. I do a semi wave.

He goes up to me and walks by my side. I was trying to get away from him.

"Yamouri?" He says worryingly. It's not his fault that I'm avoiding everyone today, but I just need my space right now.

"I have things to attend to…" I tell him and walk off in another direction. I look back at him and turn into an alley and smack into something.

"Ow….!" I gasp. I hold on my head and can feel a bump.

I look up and see Kiba who is standing up and brushing himself off.

"Sorry about that…" he says and helps me up.

"Are you ok? You don't seem hyper as usual," he says.

"Wow…How come everyone knows?" I think to myself sulking.

"I'm just tired..." I say confidently and give another fake smile. Akamaru barks and I slightly pet his head.

"Well alright, if you say so…" he says as I start to walk off.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few hours later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I take a seat on a bench and put my head between my knees. I watch as the clouds slowly float by and enjoy the nice and quietness of this area. Hoping no one will come. I close my eyes and let myself drift into a nap. The breeze is soothing and I can feel myself relaxing. I picture myself flying threw the clouds. Trying to fly with the birds, but they're so fast. Then I stop and I just float still as the clouds pass threw me. A cold breeze starts to hit. I can hear a voice calling my name, and then it starts to get louder. The voice sounds angry. I feel myself starting to fall as I try and reach for something only there's nothing to hold on to. I start to fall down fast and I look at the ground that is getting closer and closer. I scream for help, but nothing comes out of my mouth. I try to do my hand signs, but feel as if my hands have been tied.

"Aaah!" I gasp as I sit up on the bench. I see no one is around.

I see a leaf fall down from a tree and lands on my leg. All that I hear is the rustling of the leaves on trees and a bird calling.

"It was just a weird dream…" I say quietly trying to reassure myself.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ Flashback~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Why can't you understand?" I asked Kyho.

"Because Yami! Now just drop it," He said.

"No! I can be friends with whoever I want to be friends with," I yelled at him and started to storm off he came after me and had that serious look in his face.

"I don't trust him ok?" He said rather coldly.

"Why? What did he ever do to you?" I asked crossing my arms.

"It's hard to explain…" He added while looking at the ground. "It's just this feeling I get around him, like something in the air…"

"Brother…Kento would never hurt me…" I told him with a smile. He shrugged it off and we walked home.

"Can I have a piggyback ride?" I said with a puppy face. He rolled his eyes and let me on. The sun was setting and I held on hugging my brother.

"What a pretty sunset!" Kyho exclaimed. I looked up at the nice shades of purple and pink and how bright and orange it all looked.

"It is pretty, "I said with a smile.

"Alright get off now butt face," he said and slid me off.

"Whatever jerk face," I snapped back and we went inside.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ End of Flashback~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I look over at the sunset. It looks just like it did then. Like clouds of pink and purple swirls surrounding the sun.

"I should probably go see how Lee is doing…" I said quietly. It's like I haven't seen him in days.

"There you are…" I hear from behind. I see Neji starting to walk towards me.

"Oh…I guess someone did find me…" I said quietly out of his ear range.

"I was just about to go look for Lee…" I told him.

"I see. Do you want to go ask him to eat with us?" He says.

"Oh…Well I'm not that hungry…" I tell him while avoiding eye contact.

"Listen Yamouri," He pauses. My attention on him now.

"Guy-Sensei told me the story…Is that why you always train so hard?" He asks.

I feel the emotions of anger that have been built up ready to explode.

"Listen Neji, It's none of your concern and it's none of your business, "I tell him while starting to walk away.

"What will you achieve by it if you do succeed?" He asks. I tighten my fist and take a deep breathe to avoid exploding at him.

"There are some things in this world that you will never understand," I say rather harshly and walk off into the woods.

"The nerve of that guy butting into my business…" I think to myself. Its pitch dark out and I begin to take the long way home. I see something coming at me and notice it's my butterfly.

"Where have you been?" I ask it while watching it flutter a circle around me. It starts to fly forward almost like it wants me to follow it.

"Hey….?" I ask it and begin to walk after it.

"Geez so demanding…" I think to myself. It's like its read my mind because it comes and slaps me in the face with its wing.

"Hey!" I shout trying to flick it. It flies by and cuts my cheek.

"Ow…" I gasp. It starts to go again and I continue following not sure what to expect this time.

"Where are we going?" I ask annoyed and tired.

It leads me to the tree I usually hang at to draw and see someone already sitting up there.

"Huh?" I think to myself as I try and see who it is. The light of the moon shines for a second on their face and I see its Shikamaru.

"Stupid insect!" I shriek and begin to walk a different direction. I look back and see it's gone, but I think Shikamaru saw me.

"Ohh…!" I gasp as I trip over a log and my face falls into someone's chest. I look up and see Shikamaru giving me a weird look.

"What's gotten into you? Running away from everyone?" He says in a sarcastic tone. My butterfly starts to make circles around Shikamaru and I and he just laughs at it. Shikamaru's hands are still on my shoulders and I slightly brush them off. He didn't even notice because he's distracted.

"Did you see me?" I ask him glaring.

"Yeah you took off like a crazy person," he smirks.

"I did not…" I snap at him with a grin.

"Asuma was wondering if you knew how to play Shogi," He adds.

"Not really…" I tell him.

"Oh…Ok…" he says.

"Well I should be getting home now…" I say. The butterfly slaps my face again.

"Stop that!" I shout with a fist. Shikamaru looks scared.

"Women…" He whispers under his breathe.

"Why don't we hang out for a bit and you can tell me what's been bothering you…" he says. I hesitate for a minutes, but the butterfly seems to be thinking otherwise.

"Sure…" I sigh and we walk towards a hill that has a view of dandelions. I take some and blow them in Shikamaru's face.

"At least you're acting like your old self again," he says.

I look up at the stars and the moon. I notice mine is twinkling.

Shikamaru notices it too and takes a seat. I stay standing and look around to see if anyone else is around.

"I'm surprised that annoying kid, Hikaru isn't around…" He says while sighing.

"Be careful...You might jinx it," I say sarcastically and take a seat by him.

I look down at the yellow dandelions. I remember when Kento and I use to hang in these types of fields. We'd just lie there all day. Maybe Shikamaru and I can do it now sometimes.

I sort of see him as a brother. Like the one I didn't get to grow up with. At the same time he reminds me so much of Kento. I tighten my fist and rip off the stem of the dandelion I was holding.

"I hate that name…" I think to myself. Shikamaru notices my sudden change of expression.

"Yamouri? Did something else happen on that mission?" He says. I nod no and try and keep a straight face. I fake a smile and shrug it off.

"Nope…just a regular boring mission," I tell him.

"I can tell when you're actually smiling and when it's a fake smile Yamouri," he says. I snap my head and face him.

"I forgot how smart he is…" I think to myself.

"Nothing happened alright? I'm tired of people asking! It's not even a big deal. Maybe I just feel like sulking today! Did you ever think of that? Maybe I'm just tired…" I snap at him.

"Whatever…" he sighs. I hear rustling in the bushes and throw a kunai knife. It's like a reflex. I see Hikaru jump out and dodge it.

"Hikaru? What are you doing here?" I shout.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong so I've been following you all day…" he says. Shikamaru slaps his forehead and I give him a death glare.

"What's wrong with you people," I add and begin to walk off.

"Beh! Idiot…" Shikamaru calls Hikaru. He goes over the edge and tries to punch Shikamaru.

"That's enough! I've had enough. Leave me alone," I yell and walk off. They stand there with mouths open.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I sit in my tree with my head between my knees cuddled into a ball. It's been quiet so far and I feel like things are finally starting to get a little better.

"Hey I got you some fudge…" I hear Shikamaru's voice. I lift my head and see him holding a box of my favorite thing ever. My face lights up and I grab the box from him and start to stuff my face.

"Hmmm num!" I mumble. He gives me a weird funny look then he just laughs at me.

I take my time enjoying the awesome flavor of fudge. I didn't even think Shikamaru would know that it's my favorite. At least I don't remember telling him.

I throw a piece at his face and he accidently smears it trying to take it off.

"Hmm…!" He says as he struggles to get it off. I laugh hysterically and almost fall off the tree.

"Ugh…" he sighs then smiles at me as I continue laughing for another five minutes.


	17. Chapter 17 Dinner at Shikamaru's

"Help me!" Kyho screams. I drop my laundry and begin to sprint towards the house. The sky is red and the clouds are black. No matter how fast I run towards the house it keeps getting farther and farther away.

"I'm coming!" I shout as try and run faster.

"Mother! Father! Kyho!" I yell and trip. I see my house engulfed in flames and my family screaming in agony. Their screams are like knifes to my ears. I finally enter the house and burn my hands. I see Kento standing over them. He has the sword to Kyho's throat.

"Don't please!" I scream.

"You couldn't save me…." Kyho whispers and then Kento slashes his throat. I try to scream but,my throat goes hard.

"You let them die Yamouri!" Kento shouts and stabs me in the chest.

I let out a big gasp as I sit up in my bed. My hands are trembling and I look around and realize it was just another dream. My face is covered in sweat. I must have been tossing and turning the whole night. My chest starts hurting and I place my hand on the spot were my scar is. The same spot he stabbed in my dream and that horrible day.

I look over and see the picture of my family and place it down.

"He was right…" I say quietly remembering Kyho's words.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ Later that morning~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"I'm off to train, you can come if you want," I tell the butterfly as it comes out of my house. It flies away and I watch it disappear.

I double check to make sure that my sword is in my patch and run off to meet Neji and Guy-sensei. I need to get a lot done today. I haven't used my invisible jutsu in awhile so I need to work on that as well to make it last longer than five minutes.

"Neji?" I call when I arrive and see that no one is around.

"NEJI!" I scream and throw some rocks around. I sense someone around and they throw a shuriken at me. I quickly use my barrier to shield my face and then see that whoever threw that is running away. Normally I would go after them, but obviously they would just be a waste of time if they ran off.

"Well if no one is here I'm going to use all this space!" I shout and begin to do my hand signs. I see a target board just about 80 feet ahead.

"Tanbou Raikou! (Searching lightning)," I slam my fist into the ground and a charge of lightning goes to the target board and almost hits it.

"Wow, epic fail…" I think to myself. I pick up my knife and make it a sword and run up to the board and start slashing it.

"Stupid son of…!" I yell.

"Yamouri!" I hear a voice call. I drop my sword and look over and see Neji standing there with his arms crossed

"Is that really a way to train your skills?" He says sarcastically.

I go over to the area set up with millions of boards and try my jutsu again. I attempt it several times and become frustrated. Usually I have good aim, but this jutsu is being ridiculous.

"You should try it again," Neji says. He looks all dirty. He's been training hardcore over there.

"Uuggh!" I shout and attempt again. Neji smirks as I fall to the ground face first.

"Maybe I wasn't meant to be a lightning user…" I mumble. I look over and see Neji is working on his 8 trigrams.

"Maybe I just don't have talent…" I whisper quietly as I slowly get back up and dust the dirt off my clothes.

I picture the farthest board to be Kento's face and I do the hand signs again.

"Tanbou Raikou!" I shout and hit it perfectly. The board rips into a million pieces as I use my barrier shield above my head as a piece comes at me.

"Not bad!" I hear Guy-sensei shout.

"Sensei where did you come from?" I ask shocked at his sudden appearance.

"You think you can do it a few more times?" He asks with a big grin.

"No…I've used up most of my chakra…" I say sadly.

He places his hand on my shoulder.

"Where is that youthful passion?" He shouts. I give him a weird look.

"I am youthful…" I say.

"What? I can't hear you!" He shouts. I cross my arms and glare at him.

He gives me thumbs up with his white shiny smile. I take a big sigh and walk over to sit by a tree.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few hours later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"You guys can take the rest of the day off," Guy-sensei tells us. Neji and I both look exhausted. I feel good though that I got a good day of training. No one knows that I come back here at night.

"What time is it?" I ask Neji.

"I think it's six," He adds. I nod and start to run into town.

"Hinata!" I shout and see Kiba standing by a food stand with that cat girl from the Chuunin exams.

"Kiba have you seen Hinata?" I ask him.

"Yeah she said she had something she had to go do…" he says while scratching his chin.

"Oh…" I sigh and slump my shoulders.

"Oh were you guys gonna hang?" He says. The cat girl looks at me and I notice that black cat is by her feet.

"That cat!" I think to myself. "So this is your owner eh?"

"Yamouri….?" Kiba says touching my forehead.

"Huh?" I snap at him and begin to walk off. The girl laughs at Kiba.

"Hmm those two sure seem close…" I think to myself.

I walk by a family who are eating at a restaurant. I stand there for a second and watch them.

"It's been a long time since I had a family dinner…" I whisper. I notice the kids laughing and throwing pieces of food at each other.

"Well now I'm hungry," I say as I hear my stomach growl rather loudly.

"Ehh…" I whine.

"Hey Yami have you seen Choji?" I hear Shika's voice say.

"Nah not today," I add. It goes quiet and then my stomach growls again even louder. I hold my stomach and my face turns a little red at the embarrassment. Shikamaru smirks at me. If it was Naruto he would point and make a scene.

"I want some rice balls…" I add.

"Well my mom was actually going to make some of that tonight, do you want to come over and eat?" he says.

"Really? Your parents wouldn't mind?" I ask

"Nah I don't think so…Well my mom can be a handful and well my dad is a little strange…" he says. I laugh remembering the last time I saw his dad he was drunk.

"Well let's go then," I say and we start to walk over to Shikamaru's house. I've never been in his house despite being his friend all these years.

"Wait here while I ask," he says in a sighing way.

"I get a nervous feeling just standing outside his house…" I think to myself. I remember Choji saying his mother is very mean.

"Eh…!" I say and start to walk off.

"Hey!" Shikamaru says as he comes out the door.

"Oh…hehe…" I say embarrassed being caught.

"You weren't trying to leave were you?" He says sarcastically.

"Well come in…" He points to the inside.

"Eh…I don't know…" I say while looking around.

"Come on don't be such a drag," he says. My stomach makes another sound and his eyebrows lift up.

"Fine!" I say and enter the house. It's sort of plain looking. Shikamaru's dad is sitting at the table looking at a paper and looks over as I walk into the kitchen.

"Thank you for having me over Mr. and Mrs. Nara," I say sweetly.

"Your welcome hun," Shika's mom says. Shikamaru's dad puts down the paper and winks at Shikamaru.

"Um…" I think to myself.

"Is the food done yet? I'm starving," Shikamaru says as he takes a sit across his dad. His mom smacks the back of his head with a towel.

"Don't sass me Shikamaru! It'll be ready when it is perfect," she says and turns back around. I bite my lip to avoid laughing. Shikamaru's dad says she doesn't like being bossed around. He then lets out a laugh and points at his son. Shikamaru puts his hand on his cheek and leans on the table.

"It smells really good," I say.

"Why thank you…" She says with a half smile.

"Oh I have something I was going to give you when you were in the hospital, but I forgot," Shikamaru says.

"Oh really? What is it?" I see his mom starting to serve the food.

"It's a new sketch book because I noticed your other one is almost filled up," he says. I see his mom put a big ball of rice balls with sauce on the side.

"Oh yummy!" I think to myself.

"Typical Shikamaru always forgetting things," His mom says with a grin.

"I do not mom," he says annoyed. She points his finger at him and he looks at the food.

"You guys sure do spend a lot of time together," says his father.

"Shikaku don't embarrass him," says Shika's mom.

"Oh…We're just friends. I think of him as a brother…" I say confidently. They both look at me and Shikamaru reaches for a rice ball.

"Oh…I see…" His mom says in a sleepily like tone.

"Looks like she's playing hard to get…" Shikaku says in a whisper. Shikamaru gives him a glare.

"Man if I had known you guys were gonna act like this I would have never invited her…" Shikamaru thinks to himself.

I nearly choke on my rice ball and then it goes threw the wrong tube. I begin coughing and His mom goes behind me and starts to pat my back.

"Look what you did!" She yells at Shikaku. They hand me a glass of water and I feel better.

"Thanks…" I say quietly as I wipe my mouth. "This can't get anymore awkward…" I think to myself.

His mom finally takes a seat at the table and we begin eating.

"This sort of feels like a family dinner," I think to myself and begin smiling.

"So maybe next time we could meet your family eh?" Says Shikaku. I drop my fork and stare at my plate. Everyone turns to me. Shikamaru raises his eyebrows like he has just now realized he's never seen them himself and I never talk about it.

"Something wrong?" Shika's mom asks.

"I…Uh…" I say shakily. It gets all quiet in the room and I look up and lock eyes with Shikamaru. I think he got the message because he starts to tell his dad about something he did with Asuma today.

"Oh good job son!" Shikaku says. They start talking about it more and I just want to leave.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Thank you for the lovely dinner," I say kindly.

"Oh come over anytime!" Exclaims his mom.

"Oh do you want the sketchbook now?" Shikamaru asks.

"Sure," I reply. He starts to walk to his room.

"Does he want me to follow him in there?" I think to myself. I start to follow and his room is so plain looking. He begins looking threw his drawer and I take a seat on his bed.

"Man…I think my mom was in here," He says irritated.

"What's it look like?" I ask while looking threw a drawer by his bed.

"It's blue," he says.

"Man what a drag!" He says with a big sigh. I feel myself getting really sleepily.

"Maybe it decided to run away from you…" I say quietly. He gives me a funny look and continues looking.

"I know it's in here…Man now I'm going to have to clean that up later…" he says looking at the pile of things on the floor.

"Silly Shika!" I shout and throw a pillow at his head. I look out the window and see a bird chirping on a branch and stare at it. I hear more rustling of Shikamaru looking threw his things. I fall over and feel my eyes slowly start to close.

"I found it!" He says and turns around to find me asleep.

"Uh...Yamouri?" He says as he walks over and slightly kicks my feet.

"Hmm…." I mumble as I roll over.

"Hey wake up!" He says and nudges my shoulders. My eyes flicker open and he hands me the sketchbook.

"Oh…Did I fall asleep?" I say amused at his expression.

"Yeah…" he says while scratching the back of his head.

"Well I better get home now," I stutter while heading towards the door.

"See you later," and I wave goodbye.

I go straight home to get my training stuff and decide to go straight to the training grounds. I see the black cat Mei sitting in front of my door.

"Hey there girl, aren't you suppose to be with your owner, Kiba's girlfriend?" I say.

"Meoow," she replies and rubs against my leg.

"How'd you know where I lived? Stalker," I say. She looks up at me and makes a purring sound.

"Yeah that's what I thought!" I tell it and pet her slightly.

"Well I got to get going now," I say as I start to run towards the training area for another night of training.


	18. Chapter 18 A New Dilemma Begins

I like watching the birds for some reason. Their life seems so peaceful. I take out a notepad and begin to draw them in their nest. Things have gotten better. Lee had his surgery and was told it went well he could start training with us soon.

"Hey, are you forgetting we're suppose to be training here," Neji says.

"Oh…Right! Sorry…" I mumble, putting my notepad back into my pocket.

"Well actually I'm going to go look for someone," I tell him and start to run off.

"I'll be back soon!" I shout. He crosses his arms and shakes his head.

I heard that Shikamaru became a Chuunin this morning. He was the only one out of all the students that did. That's pretty exciting, but he is so lazy…

I start to slow down as I think of the fact that I failed to become one. I hear lots of chattering people around me.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be training right now?" I hear a voice say. I turn around and see Shikamaru with a green vest on like the other ninjas wear.

"I heard the news," I tell him with a half smile.

"Bleh, not you too…" he says with frown. I can tell he's happy inside.

"You should be proud!" I exclaim annoyed by his attitude. He looks at me like he's thinking.

"Well I got to get going," I tell him starting to walk away.

"Same…" he adds. "Hey!" He says. I turn around as the breeze goes by and my bangs cover my face. "You'll be one soon too, I just know it." I nod and begin to run to the other direction.

I go to my house and grab my old sketch book and add in the doodle of the birds in. I can't help it, when I'm inspired I just have to add it in here. I think I've just come to love drawing.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::.~

"Neji…!" I shout as I arrive at the training area and see he's gone.

"Oh there you are," he says as he jumps by me. A cold breeze goes by and I get a weird feeling. I get a shiver that goes down my spine.

"Hmm…It's that feeling again…Like something's coming…" I think to myself.

"Something wrong Yamouri?" He asks. I nod no, and go over by a tree.

"Lee can come train with us again soon," I tell him. He looks at me with his mouth slightly open then looks at the ground. Poor Lee has been undergoing training so he can go back to his usual training.

"I see…" he says in monotone voice. The feeling I'm getting is getting stronger.

"Hey I'm feeling kind of sick, do you mind if I take the rest of the day off?" I ask him.

"Not at all…" he replies and continues his training.

"Alright see you later Neji!"" I shout and begin to run off again.

I take a seat on a swing and begin to draw in my old sketch book. I look threw the pages and see that most of my drawings have to do with my memories. I've noticed the past few days I've been drawing what I've been seeing in my dreams lately. No one has ever looked inside them except me.

Well I've showed Shikamaru my other sketches, but never ones about my family and other things. I just realized that Shikamaru doesn't even know about my past. He's probably going to start wondering about it now since last night at his house his parents brought it up. The thing is I didn't want anyone to know, but now that Neji and Naruto know it's just more stressful. The last thing I need is pity from anyone.

"Look at me wasting my time with nonsense," I think to myself while looking down at my sloppy doodles. I get a feeling that I'm being watched and look around for a second and then continue with my drawing.

"Look's like we have intruders…" I think to myself. I hear chirping and see a yellow bird on the branch above me. I whistle and put my finger out and it comes to me.

"Hey little guy," I say kindly. He tilts his head to the side and looks up at me and chirps again.

A cold breeze goes by again and the bird flies away.

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ A few hours later~.::.::.::.::.::~

I take a walk around town and see Naruto sitting on a roof top. He looks like he's been seriously thinking of something. A few minutes later he jumps down and starts to walk into an alley. I go the same direction.

"Naruto…" He turns around and looks a little shocked to see me.

"Um…about the other day…" I start to say.

"No worries…I won't tell anyone…" he says. I nod and start to say something, but notice his expression and that he's not in the mood to talk.

"Ok...Thanks…" I say calmly and he walks off.

"Hey Yami!" I hear someone shout I look over and see Hikaru running over to me.

"Oh hey…" I say quietly looking away. The sun is setting and it's starting to get dark out.

"I was going to tell you something the other day, but you got kind of…." He starts to say then stops himself.

"Kind of what?" I say agitated.

"Oh…nothing…" he says with a smile.

"It's hard to think that someone like this kid is a Chuunin…" I think to myself as I examine his face. He's looking at something.

"Do you want to go get something to eat?" he says with a slight blush.

"Hmm…" I put my finger on my chin to let him know I'm thinking about it.

"Fine…" I say stubbornly.

"Oh boy!" He shouts and grabs my hand. We begin running threw the crowd.

"Slow down Hikaru!" I shout and force my hand out of his. I fall back and bump into someone and they fall forward.

"Oh I'm so sorry…" I say embarrassed and see its Zai, Hikaru's friend from the Chuunin Exams.

"Oh…it's ok…" he says and pauses when he sees Hikaru.

"Hey man!" He shouts and they begin chatting away.

"Um…Ok…" I mumble and stand there with my arms crossed. I see something in the sky coming from the direction I was at earlier.

"Could that be them?" I think to myself and begin to run off.

"Hey Yamouri what about dinner?" Hikaru shouts from behind.

"Sorry I'm busy! Eat with your friend!" I shout back and begin to sprint.

I start to walk and look around. I sit in front of a tree that's by the only road that leads out of the village.

"I don't even know what I'm looking for…" I whisper to myself as I put my hand on my forehead. I take a big sigh and put my head down.

I should just go home and get my things and train the rest of the night," I add. I hear footsteps and look down at the path. I stand up to get a better look and see Sasuke Uchiha walking this way.

"Sasuke…?" I whisper to myself. I see he has a backpack and he glares at me. I slightly walk out and he stops a few feet away.

"You're leaving?" I ask while crossing my arms.

"Don't tell me you're going to try and stop me, because it'll only be a waste of time," he says bitterly.

"Why would I stop you? I have no reason to," I add while looking at the ground. He looks shocked and his mouth is slightly open, then he closes it and looks at the ground too.

"You are probably the only one that understands what it's like, to have all this hatred built up inside…" he says. I nod and the breeze goes by and my bangs cover my face. A few leaves go by.

"I've chosen this path, and you probably will too someday…" he says and continues walking.

"I already have…" I add he looks at me and we lock eyes for a second.

"Sasuke…" I say quietly. He looks back at me.

"Are you sure about leaving with them?" He looks shocked that I know about those ninja waiting for him.

"How do you know about them?" He says.

"It's a secret; just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into…" I say and start to walk off.

"I do know and you better keep your mouth shut," He adds.

"What are you going to do about it if I don't?" I say in an angry tone. He doesn't say anything.

"That's what I thought…. Don't worry I don't need to tell anyone," I tell him. He begins walking off also. I see someone lying on a bench ahead and see its Sakura.

"She must have come after him…" I think to myself as I see she looks like she's been crying.

The leaves rustle in the wind and I look back and see there is no sign of Sasuke anymore.

I think back to Neji's words.

"I wonder…What I will do if I achieve my goal…" I think to myself and continue to walk home leaving Sakura behind.

~::.::.::.::.::.~ The next morning~.::.::.::.::.::.~

I walk away from the hostpital because Lee wasn't in his room. I see at the bottom of the steps Neji holding Lee over his shoulder and Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, and Naruto standing in front of them.

"Huh?" I think to myself and start running down the stairs.

"Lee!" I shout. They all turn and face me. Lee stars walking away from Neji.

"What's going on?" I ask them.

"Sasuke left, we're going after him!" Naruto says with excitement.

"What? Already…" I think to myself.

"I'd ask for you to come along, but you probably should stay here incase something goes wrong," Shikamaru says. I nod and they start to walk towards the gate. I put Lee's arm around my shoulder so we can go to the gate too.

"It's time to go, oh well at least I got five," Shikamaru says.

They start to come up with a plan and Shikamaru explains their positions and stuff.

"Yamouri…you don't have to help me up anymore…" Lee says as he stands on his own with his crutch.

"Ok…If you're sure…" I add. I can see his determination to get better on his face.

In just a matter of minutes Shikamaru as come up with this awesome plan. He is such a nerd…

"Since no one has anything to add, I've saved the most important thing for last. For as long as I've known him, Sasuke and I haven't exactly been close buddies. In fact I don't even really like the guy," Shikamaru says. Everyone looks surprised. I roll my eyes.

"All the same Sasuke is a ninja belonging to the hidden leaf village, he is a comrade, and I'll put my life on the line to help him. That's the way of our village. I know I usually seem like a pretty lazy guy…" he continues.

"Yep you are…" I say rather loudly and he gives me a funny look.

"But not today, because now I'm responsible for your lives as well," Shikamaru says.

"Wow I didn't think I'd see Shikamaru acting like a Chuunin…" Kiba adds. I smirk and Lee has a big smile on his face.

"You guys better be careful," I say strictly. They all give me a grin.

"Don't worry we'll be back before you know it," Shikamaru says with a grin.

"Wait!" Someone shouts. They were leaving until we heard someone call after them. We turn around and see Sakura standing there.

"Are you ok?" Naruto asks her.

"Lady Hokage told me everything. Sorry Sakura, I can't take you on this mission. I know you tried, but not even you were able to convince Sasuke could you?" Shikamaru says.

Naruto gasps and I look over at her remembering my chat with Sasuke.

"I probably could have stopped him, but…" I think to myself. "His mind was made up, there's no changing that."

"Now our only option is for me to find him and force him to come back to the village. I'm sorry, but there's nothing else you can do for him," Shikamaru finishes.

"But that means! Did he turn his back on you Sakura?" Naruto gasps. Sakura starts crying. Everyone is starring at her. She sure likes to cry a lot.

"Naruto….This is a once in a lifetime request…Just bring him home…Please bring Sasuke back to me! I did everything I could, I tried, but I couldn't stop him from leaving the village," Sakura says while crying.

"At this point, there is only one person that can stop him. Only one person that can save him…Naruto it's all up to you."

"Well gosh Sakura, you must really care about Sasuke huh? I get it; I can see that deep down this must really be painful…" Naruto says. You can kind of tell how much he cares for Sakura, but she's so dumb to notice it.

"Don't you worry I'm going to bring Sasuke back, I promise that on my life Sakura!" Naruto says and gives her thumbs up. She continues crying.

"Whoa Naruto! Are you sure about that?" Kiba says in a sarcastic tone.

"Sure! When I make a promise you can count on it! That's my ninja way. Well let's get going!" Naruto shouts.

"Let's go!" Shikamaru says and they start to walk off. Sakura continues crying.

"Did you see Naruto when he made that promise? That means he will do it! I can tell, Naruto will succeed," Lee tells her and gives her thumbs up as well.

"Lee…." I think to myself. "Always knows how to cheer up people," I smile.

"Let's go Lee," I tell him and we start to walk back slowly. I exchange looks with Sakura.

"If she only knew why… Its people like her who think they know everything when they don't that annoy me," I think to myself. I remember how I am around Neji when he tried to tell me he understood. Sasuke must have felt the same way. That is why he chose to go down this path.

"That is why Sakura you will never understand…" I think to myself.

"Are you sure you don't need my help Lee?" I ask him.

"No thank you Yamouri," he says sweetly with a smile.

"And it's people like you Lee that make me want to keep going…" I think to myself and smile at Lee.


	19. Chapter 19 After the others!

I'm getting the feeling like I should have told them. There they go totally unaware of the other ninja or most likely they do know, but still...

"Idiot! You should have thought of it then!" I think to myself.

"Yamouri…?" Lee says.

"Huh…?" I snap back into reality from my zoning out.

"Lee let me know if you need anything, I'm right here," I tell him. He looks over and smiles. I see Sakura is still standing in the same place just being quiet.

"Should I tell someone?" I think to myself while looking over at Sakura.

"Ugh!" I yell. Lee looks at me confused.

"Well what difference will it really make?" I continue saying in my head I put my hands up in frustration and accidently smack Lee.

"Waah!" I hear Lee shout and see he has fallen over.

"Whoops! I'm sorry Lee!" I shout. I help him up and he brushes himself off.

"I um was thinking…."I tell him, but see his attention is towards upset Sakura.

"Maybe I should go later on when no one is around and try and catch up with them…" I think to myself.

"Don't worry Yamouri they'll be fine," Lee says almost as if he read my mind.

"Oh yeah…" I say with a fake smile. Lee can tell there's something going on.

"Lee…Don't get any ideas to go off after them in your condition ok?" I tell him he looks at me with concern.

"Don't you worry I won't," he says, but I can tell he really wanted to go.

"Promise?" I ask while putting my hands on my hips.

"Yes…" he says while rolling his eyes.

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::~

I start to walk home and see Sakura glances over at me.

"How long is she going to mop about this?" I think to myself as I look around for something to do.

"This sucks…" I say quietly.

"Yamouri," I hear Sakura say blankly. I stop and turn around and see she is looking at the ground with a serious face.

"Yeah?" I ask assuming it's probably not that important.

"The other day I saw Sasuke and you talking on that bench, and I couldn't help but over hear…." She says. I give her a glare realizing she must know.

"Did Sasuke tell you anything about him leaving?" She asks now facing me.

"No he didn't," I say sternly. The breeze goes by and we just stand there glaring at each other.

"Very well then," she says as she walks past me. I think back to that conversation and realize not much was said anyways.

I begin to walk home, but can't stop thinking about what could be going on in their mission.

"I should do something…" I say quietly while on the look out for an uninvited surprise visit from Hikaru who always seems to pop out of nowhere. I find the bench I like and lay down on it and look at the clouds.

"Ugh… Man….This is so boring…" I whine out loud to myself. "Stupid Shikamru should have taken me on the mission…" I add while watching a cloud shaped like a dog float by.

"Ugh I can't stand this anticipation!" I whine as I sit up. I haven't even heard from Hinata in awhile. I lay there for a few more minutes and feel myself start to drift into sleep.

I'm lying in a dark room and can hear someone's voice gasping for help. The voice sounds like Neji's. I stand up and start to run down a long black hallway and at the end I see Neji with spears flying threw him. He falls to his knees and makes his hand reach out towards me, but falls before I can get a grip.

"Neji!" I scream. I look over and see Kiba and Naruto lying on the ground with blood coming out of their mouths. Then I see Choji fall down with a spear in him.

I gasp and fall to my knees and try and calm myself. I see Shikamaru limp out of the woods with a spear lodged in his side.

"Yamouri….You should have warned us…" Shikamaru says and falls to the ground. I run over to him and he starts to become dust.

"Shikamaru!" I shout and look over and see the others are becoming dust as well.

"Noo!" I shout. And Let out a scream as I awaken on the bench gasping for air. I clench my fists and slam the bench and cover my face as I try and reassure myself that not of that happened. Still I can't help, but feel as if something happened to Neji.

"Neji, you better not die on me," I think to myself as I see a crow fly up above.

"Oh man…" I start to walk off. Maybe if I ask Lady Tsunade to go she will let me if I explain the circumstances. I have to do something. I mean they are strong, but those guys seemed like the real deal besides I'm dying to fight a real opponent and see if I've gotten any better.

"I will just have to wait a little longer…" I say quietly and start to head home.

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ A few hours later~.::.::.::.::.::~

I'll check up on Lee tomorrow. I hope he doesn't push himself too hard since he just got his surgery recently. I look out and notice the sun is going down. I wonder if Sakura will try and go after them.

"Yamouri you need to stop thinking about it!" I yell at myself.

"Seriously I need to focus on something else…" I sigh and look around for something to eat.

"It's dark out now," I say quietly while waiting for the soup on the stove to finish heating. The whole conversation with Sasuke last night seems like it happened so long ago. He should have known people would go after him he left without explanation. Well I understand why he needed to leave. His words going threw my head over and over. He said I was probably the only one who understood. I did briefly tell him my story. Yet we never really talked much and we connected so easily.

"Who is it that he is after though?" I whisper. "I never asked."

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ The next morning~.::.::.::.::.::~

I run to the hospital to see how Lee is doing. He seemed pretty bummed yesterday. I made him some cookies last night I hope he likes them.

"Um…" I start to say as I walk in and the nurse looks up at me.

"You're here to see Lee correct?" She says with a smile.

"Yes," I say and she says I can go on ahead. I walk all the way to his room and wonder if Guy-sensei is around. I enter and see he is gone. I drop the plate of cookies and the plate breaks. I get that sick feeling.

"Lee…How could you…?" I whisper quietly already knowing he has gone after the others on the Sasuke mission.

"Damn it Lee!" I shout and jump out the window.

"That idiot he is in no condition to fight!" I say angrily and go home to get some weapons.

"I don't even know which way they went," I think to myself as I start to run towards the gate.

"Wait!" I hear a voice shout. I stop running and see the girl from the Chuunin exams. The one that is sometimes with Kiba and owns that black kitty. I see her cat run up to my leg.

"Meow!" She purrs loudly. A breeze goes by and lifts my bangs from my forehead.

"What is it?" I ask examining her face. She looks likes she's cried a lot, but her look right now is dead serious.

"Are you going after them?" She asks.

"Could she be worried about Kiba maybe?" I think to myself.

"Yeah," I add.

"I was on my way too," She says confidently.

"What's your reason?" She asks. "Is it Shikamaru?" I feel a slight blush go on and then clench my fist.

"No it is not, my friend Lee has gone and you've probably heard what happened to him," I say. She nods and I look at the ground. 

"Well if we're going to go then let's go!" I shout and start to run towards the gate again.

"Right!" She shouts back. She runs after and her cat is in front. I just realized it'll be hard to track her down. The two ninja at the gate stop us.

"Where are you two going?" They ask.

"Rock Lee has left I'm going after him," I say sternly. They look shocked and say they'll report this to the hokage. They let us threw and we start to head off.

"Can your cat track them down somehow?" I ask starting to feel overwhelmed. We're traveling rather fast. My butterfly comes out of nowhere and it seems to go slow motion for a second.

"Perfect!" I shout and they both start to lead the way as this girl is right behind me.

"I don't seem to remember your name," I add. She looks like she's been thinking about something and looks up at me.

"It's Kaira Nekoosa," She says with a half smile, but still keeping the seriousness in her voice.

"Oh alright…" I start to tell her my name but she interrupts and says she already knows it.

"So why are you coming along?" I ask curious at her answer. She looks at the ground and avoids eye contact. It must be a touchy subject.

"Because of Sasuke…" She says quietly.

"What are you serious? Another Sasuke fan?" I think to myself. She sees the expression on my face and adds on.

"Him and I are childhood friends…So I feel as if I must go after him," She says. I gasp and stop on a tree branch and feel goose bumps go all over my spine. She stops too and looks at me confused.

"I had no idea about this…" I think to myself.

"Why didn't you go after him yesterday then?" I ask in a serious tone.

"Because I didn't find out till this morning," She says with a bit of anger in her voice.

"So then…Do you know about Sasuke's past and who he is after?" I ask now more curious than ever.

"Yes…his brother Itachi Uchiha," The name gave me a shiver and I look at her confused.

"Meooow," says her kitty in the awkward silence.

"Should I tell this girl about my conversation with Sasuke? She seems like she was close with him," I think to myself while looking over at the butterfly.

"I don't know what the right thing to do is…" I think to myself and look at her right in the eyes.

"Sasuke and I are a lot alike. We both walk the same path," I tell her. Her eyes widen and her glance turns into a stare.

"What do you mean by that?" She asks while her cat rubs up against her leg.

"The path of revenge. I had a little chat with Sasuke before he left and he told me that I was probably the only one that could understand his feelings. Because we have both gone threw a similar situation," I add and take a few steps forward with my back to her. She looks shocked and is taking this all in.

"Listen Kaira, if you are just like Sakura then I suggest you head back now, because Sasuke has made up his mind and I think… If he can be saved the only person that can save him is Naruto," I say while looking at the leaves rustling up above us.

"There's something about that guy that just makes people want change for the better," I add while smiling.

"Like you guys I have also lost those close to me…I can also understand Sasukes pain…" She says confidently.

"I understand your point of view, but…I feel as if I must try…" She says and begins to go ahead even faster then before. I gasp and then start to go as well speeding up.

"Well you sure are stubborn!" I shout and we exchange smiles and we follow the cat and the insect.

"Sasuke left with some sound ninja. I have a feeling they might be too much for Shikamaru's team to handle," I tell her and explain to her the other things like about his talk with Sakura and how she couldn't even stop him. I remember this girl Kaira fighting at the exam and how she almost killed the guy even thought he was begging for mercy.

"This girl definitely seems tough alright," I think to myself and we start to speed up more.

"We need to hurry," I tell her. Stupid Lee is in no condition to fight! He's just going to get hurt even more. And Neji I wonder if he is ok. Suddenly I see a string just in front and see Kaira going right into it.

"Wait!" I shout and she steps on it. A bunch of kunai knives fly at us and a net. With her claws she rips the net apart and I throw my kunai knives at the ones coming at us and then we pause for a moment wondering why no one as attacked yet.

"I guess it was a just stupid trap," I add.

"Let's go!" She shouts and we start off again. I'm guessing they've almost past the mark where they are no longer in the leaf village.

"Lee where did you go?" I think to myself as I clench my fist and start to speed up even more.


	20. Chapter 20 Lee and Gaara vs Kimimaro

"I'm thinking we're going to have to split up soon, it'll be faster, and your cat can lead you to Sasuke and this thing can lead me to Lee," I tell her while pointing at the butterfly. It's probably offended that I refer to it in such a way.

We hear an explosion and stop as we try and track which direction it's coming from.

"Could that be from one of them?" I say out loud the girl just looks around trying to see anything.

"Lee!" I shout at the top of my lungs. "Neji! Shikamaru!"

"Kiba!" Kaira shouts. I give her a funny look. "So she's not just here for Sasuke eh?" I think to myself.

"We have to have our guards up at all times," I add she nods.

"Meoow," says her kitty. She looks down at her and nods.

"We should split up now," She says I tell her sure and she takes off. Her kitty rubs up against my leg one more time and goes after her owner.

"Well we better get going too!" I shout at the butterfly who starts to take off towards a different direction.

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::~

"Could he have already caught up to the enemy?" I think to myself as I see no sign of the others. I hear a sound that sounds like Lee. I start to speed up, but stop myself when I see Lee standing in front of a guy with white hair.

"Lee!" I think to myself. "Who is that guy?"A man with white hair and his shirt half off stands a few feet in front of Lee. I see a mark appear on his chest sort of like Sasuke's as it turns to an orange shade and starts to spread. I freeze and stare with my mouth slightly open.

"What the hell?" I whisper as I see bone like things popping out of his arms.

"Is Lee…?" I pause a moment and examine what's going on. "Oh my gosh Lee is drunk!" I see him go at this guy and he dodges his attacks. Lee looks like his old self again sort of. I see he still has his speed. He aims for his chest and more bones pop out and he injures himself and flies back.

"Lee!" I shout and then cover my mouth realizing I just gave my spot away. I use my invisible jutsu to avoid being seen. It looks like Lee wants this fight all to himself and I would just be interfering. Lee gets back up and charges at him. He blocks it again with his arms.

More bones appear out of his bodies and stab into Lee. I try and hold myself back even though I want to jump in there.

"I'll step in when necessary," I whisper to myself as he continues fighting him.

"What is this guy? Are those really his bones?" I think to myself as I stare at this man. Lee falls to the ground and looks unconscious.

"Lee…" I say as my jutsu wears off. Lee jumps back up in his battle stance. Lee goes at it again with his super speed and gives him what is suppose to be a strong kick, but once again his bones protect him from the attack. And it looks like Lee is stuck in his ribs. The guy goes at Lee's face with his bones.

"Lee!" I shout and start to head at them when I see some sand block the attack. I stop myself and stare in shock.

"Is that what I think it is?" I think to myself and look around and see Gaara. The sand pushes them away from each other and shields Lee. I hide back behind a tree, but not before making eye contact with Gaara.

"Who are you?" Asks the white haired man.

"We're allies of the Leaf village. We're shinobi of the sand," Gaara says with his arms crossed.

"What is he doing here?" I think to myself while looking away. I get a weird feeling around him.

"If he's here then I'm not needed here…" I say to myself and see Gaara stand in front of Lee. The guy throws some bones that look like they came out of his fingers and Gaara's sand blocks it easily.

"This guy is disgusting!" I say quietly as my butterfly appears in front of me.

"I was hoping to get some fighting in, but…" I sigh.

"I had heard the sand made up with our village, but I didn't expect them to change sides so fast…"

Lee gets into battle stance and it looks like Gaara notices his injuries. Lee starts to run towards the white haired man and Gaara's sand trips him. I punch the tree thinking Gaara is still a traitor, but then see him walk towards the enemy.

"Does he not want Lee to get hurt again?" I think to myself as I can't seem to take my eyes off this battle. He throws more bones and the sand as usual comes to his defense. His sand then goes after him and more bones are thrown. The wind current gets strong and I try and hold my stance on the tree.

"Ugggh!" I say trying not to fly away. It finally passes. "His taijutsu is almost better than Lee's!" I say quietly while watching him jump from the sand. Gaara does some sort of jutsu and it starts to rain sand. It starts to form some sort of thing around the white haired man. Gaara then squeezes his hand closed and blood starts to ooze from it.

"It's like what he did back at that day…" I say quietly remembering the Chuunin Exams. A shiver goes down my spine and I feel goose bumps appear on my arm.

"Ehh…" I sigh and distant myself even more from the battle. I don't want to accidently interfere.

"I should go check on the others," I tell myself and start to leave when the stupid butterfly smacks me in the eye. I stand there trying to smack it back.

"When I look at this guy it reminds me of them," Gaara tells Lee.

"Huh?" Lee says.

"Uchiha…And your friend. There eyes are the same as this guy," Gaara continues. While Yamouri is unaware of the conversation.

"What friend do you mean? And what about his eyes?" Lee asks. Gaara doesn't respond and looks over at Yamouri then back at Kimimaro in the sand shell.

"Is he dead?" I think to myself while starring at the shell like thing. I notice Gaara look over and I quickly look away.

"What's with his stares? It's almost like he can…" I start to say and notice something weird going on in the shell and then his hand slowly starts to come out. He has those marks all over his body. I gasp and a breeze goes by.

Suddenly Gaara starts to do hand signs and the current picks up and a giant sand wave starts to head towards this guy.

"Uhhh…!" I gasp as I try not to fly away in the strong breeze hitting. He tries to run away from it, but gets caught in it anyways.

"So much sand!" I say and make a barrier shield in front of me because of all the things flying around. Gaara does something and the ground starts to shake and I try and keep my balance.

"Is it over?" I mumble while looking and waiting for something to happen. He starts to come out and he looks deformed.

"What the hell?" I gasp and Gaara starts to try and hold him back with his sand. He starts charging at Lee and Gaara and reveals himself. His skin is now a brown color and bones are sticking out of his back and he has a tail.

"What is he?" I think to myself while watching him go straight to them. Gaara controls his sand and aims at him, but he breaks threw his wall and tackles him sending him flying back.

"Gaara!" I gasp. The enemy sits there and looks over at Lee.

"Lee!" I gasp and then Lee charges at him and is knocked over easily. He stands there and looks around and I get a shiver down my spine.

"Oh No! Lee!" I whisper. He starts to take out his spine and I almost vomit in my mouth.

"He's using it as a sword?" I gasp. It wraps itself around Gaara and his sand makes like a blanket around him. He makes a drill looking thing out of his arm and I hesitate whether or not to go in and get Lee out of there before things really get messy. Gaara then uses his Shukaku shield. The white haired guy tries to break through, but only shatters his bone thing. Gaara uses another jutsu and he starts to sink into the ground. He fights back throwing his bone whip thing vigorously. He sinks into the ground leaving only a patch of sand on the ground.

"That was incredible," I tell myself while taking a deep breath and leaning on the tree I'm on.

"I think it's finally over," I tell the butterfly and start to head towards them when I see Gaara's reaction.

"What…?" I whisper while seeing bone like things start to pop out of the ground incredibly fast.

"Lee get out of there!" I shout and he looks over like he just noticed I'm there. One of the spears breaks down the tree I'm on and I start to head to the ground with some spears coming at me.

I fall down too fast and don't have time to finish my hand signs, but Gaara's sand has appeared under me and I float in the air.

"Yamouri when did you get here?" Lee shouts. I make a fist at him and worry this thing isn't sturdy.

"Lee! I came after you, you idiot!" I shout. Gaara gives me a funny look then stares at the ground. My floating thing comes right next to Gaara's.

"This time it's over… We won't be seeing him again in this life," Gaara says.

"Yes, good," Lee says. Gaara grunts like he's in pain and leans forward.

"Gaara are you ok?" I ask while giving him a concerned look.

"My strength is gone…We must descend," He says. I get that sick feeling and we turn around and see him there about to stab Gaara.

"I am not his pawn! He is the one, the only one who gave my life meaning, but how could the likes of you ever understand that!" He shouts and goes for Gaara's face.

"No!" I gasp and reach for my sword and see he has stopped just inches away from Gaara's face. Blood is coming out of his mouth and he falls to the ground. We all sit there in shock and realize it is actually over this time.

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::~

"That was sheer luck, I should have been killed," Gaara mumbles leaning on a tree. I've never seen him like this...

"No it was not meant to be, my sensei has often said to me a good ninja always makes his own luck, "Lee tells him with some excitement. I give him a half smile, but I'm still mad at him for coming here In the first place.

"That metal sum mother hen," Gaara mumbles. Lee snaps at him sticking up for Guy-sensei. He brings up the Chuunin Exam and how Guy-sensei intervened their battle. I tighten my fist remembering the incident and glare at Gaara.

"I am very grateful to you for saving my life, but I warn you I will not let you speak ill of my sensei!" Lee shouts. I giggle a little surprised Lee is not crying.

"So you're another one eh? You have someone in your life that you honor so much that every hurt inflicted on them is inflicted on you as well. And the closer they are to you, the greater the pain. To feel so strongly for someone you would fight for them…And die for them. You and Naruto have that in common," He pauses. "However what if this person you honor is not a virtuous person?" Gaara says.

"Impossible! Such a person would not be unworthy of honor or respect!" Lee snaps at him.

"Perhaps the companion ship of even an evil person is preverbal to loneliness," Gaara adds and Lee doesn't know what to say. He looks over at me and I get that feeling like he can see right through me. His words going threw my head.

"Yamouri, how long were you here?" Lee asks. I snap out of my thinking and look at him.

"Like the whole fight…I didn't want to interfere, but I had to make sure you didn't get yourself killed," I tell him He gives me a grin. I give him a half smile then I glare at him.

My butterfly comes and slaps Lee in the face. I give them a weird look and Lee walks away following it.

"Gaara…Thank you for saving Lee…" I tell him while avoiding eye contact.

"Yamouri was it?" He says I look up at him now.

I nod and thank him also for saving me from my fall. I remember his sand being there.

He just stares at me and doesn't say anything I tilt my head and feel a little creeped out.

"This girl…such sadness and anger in those eyes…She hides it so well from the others. And the same as Sasuke and Kimimaro searching for a purpose," Gaara thinks to himself. "What is it that she is hiding I wonder…"


	21. Chapter 21 The Nightmares Continue

We arrive back and Lady Tsunade had sent other medical ninja to bring back the others.

"I need to check up on everyone!" I think to myself as I run towards the hospital. I heard some bad news and I need to see them all. The mission was a failure and they weren't able to bring Sasuke back. Though I figured as much.

The nurse told me Neji is in room 7 and Choji is in room 6. Shikamaru I can't seem to find, but he most likely is waiting for Choji. The nurse won't let me see Neji yet so I run to room six as fast as I can and see Shikamaru standing in the middle of the hallway looking at the ground and his dad stands near by. I see that sand ninja girl that I lost to in the Chuunin exams sitting on the bench behind them.

"Shikamaru… How's Choji?" I ask out of breathe and gasping. I ditched Lee and Gaara and sped here. He just looks at me and he looks sad. His dad stares at me too then looks at the ground. No one answers my question.

"He isn't dead is he…?" I think to myself and bit my lip and look at the ground. "Choji…"

Suddenly the door light turns off and Lady Tsunade comes out. I take a few steps forward.

"Lady Tsunade!" I say and she takes a big sigh and then smiles.

"He is going to be just fine! The antidote worked. The extermination of cells caused by the pills affects have been rested," She sighs and takes a seat across Temari. "I couldn't have done it without your help Shikaku. The Nara clan's sacred medicine guide was invaluable. It's quite impressive!" She says with a big smile and Shikamaru's dad says thanks and suddenly everyone turns to Shizune running down the hall towards us calling the hokage's name.

She gasps for breathe then smiles big.

"Neji Hyuuga is safe! His condition has stabilized. And there is more I just heard that Kakashi and Naruto have returned safely. Naruto has serious injuries, but they are not life threatening he is going to be ok!" She says. My stomach drops and a smile comes across my face, but I look over at Shikamaru who doesn't look so good.

"Shikamaru!"Your mission was a failure. However everyone is alive…That's the most important thing," Lady Tsunade says. I stare at Shikamaru's back and see he is shaking and he starts to cry.

"Next time….The mission will go perfectly…" He stutters and begins to sob. I've never ever seen him cry before. The hall has an awkward mood. He's never ever been like this before. He must feel awful.

"Oh Shika…" I mumble and look at the ground. I start to walk to Shizune.

"I'd like to see Neji please," I tell her she nods and I look back at Shikamaru who is wiping his face.

"I'll see you later Shikamaru…I don't think you did that bad" I say with a half smile while placing my hand on his shoulder. He looks shocked and then nods and his dad puts his hand on his shoulder and I begin to walk to where Neji is.

"He's right in here, but he's still in recovery," Shizune says and opens the door. I walk in and see him sitting up and looking out the window.

"Neji!" I shout and run to him and give him a hug. I bite my lip.

"Uh…Yamouri?" He says and looks shocked. I'm shocked myself at this too. I don't like to hug people; I've never been much of an affectionate person. Only when I was younger. I slightly blush and then smile at him.

"I'm glad you're ok," I say. He smirks.

"How's Lee?" He asks.

"Oh that's right!" I think to myself.

"Oh he's ok…" I add and look out at the village threw the window.

"That's good…" He adds. "I heard that fool went after us."

"He did… I went after him and….Gaara saved him," I say confidently remembering the whole thing.

"Gaara?" He asks shocked.

"I know… I thought the same thing…" I add. He looks at his hands sitting on his lap.

"Yamouri…About before…You were right…It's not my business…" He starts to say and I interrupt him.

"Don't worry about it," I tell him and open the curtains and look out the window.

"Let's put it behind us shall we?" I say and he looks shocked at my answer. About a week ago I was ready to rip his head off.

"Let's just say I wouldn't be able to handle losing a teammate after everything that has happened," I think to myself and see a little kid run by.

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ A few minutes later~.::.::.::.::.::~

After my visit with Neji I checked up on Kiba and Naruto. Choji can't have visitors yet so we have to wait. Shikamaru still seems depressed, but he's hard to find right now. He must have gone somewhere to clear his thoughts. I head to the hospital's roof top and sit on the edge.

"With Neji and Lee recovering I probably won't be going on any missions anytime soon," I think to myself and take a big sigh and hunch over.

"Oh I didn't know you were already here," I hear Shikamaru's voice behind me. I turn around and see him standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"Oh you can keep me company if you want," I say sarcastically and he gives me a funny look.

"Have I ever told you your head remind me of a pineapple," I say with a grin he rubs his head and sighs. He takes a seat by me on the edge and looks down at the ground.

"Don't mope about it forever Shika," I tell him. He looks at me seriously. I see Gaara walking down below.

"I don't plan too…" he says.

"Have you seen Choji yet?" I ask him. He gets even sadder and mumbles "No not yet…"

"Aww Poor Shika!" I think to myself and notice Gaara is already gone somewhere else.

"He's going to be on his feet soon stuffing his face again," I say with a little laugh. He tries to smile and then scratches his head.

"There he is again!" I say out loud.

"Huh?" Shikamaru asks confused.

"Oh nothing, I'll see you later, let me know if you want to talk more," I tell him and jump off the roof.

"Eh?" I hear Shikamaru gasp.

I do some flips in the air and land on a rope used for hanging laundry and then jump down onto the ground and begin running off.

"Ugh…" I moan while looking around and begin running again and turn into an alley and smack into something. I fall back rather hard.

"Stupid Hikaru!" I shout automatically assuming it's him and look up and see its Gaara. I gasp and feel embarrassed.

"Oh sorry Gaara," I tell him he doesn't change his expression.

"Um I was wondering if we could talk for a second…" I tell him and all of a sudden I see Hikaru walking towards us.

"I thought I heard your voice call me Yami," he says. I hunch forward and smack my forehead. Gaara stands there looking annoyed as Hikaru starts to talk about his day.

"Hikaru I don't want to hear about your day…" I mumble and he stops talking.

"But but…Yami!" He shouts.

"Stop calling me that!" I yell back at him and see Gaara walking away. I push Hikaru and he falls on his butt and I walk after Gaara.

"What is it that you want?" He asks.

"I just have two questions," I say serious now.

"I was wondering if you could help me train," I tell him. His eyes widen and then he looks to the side. After seeing him fight several times I know he is amazingly strong. Maybe stronger than Neji and Lee.

"I'm sorry, but I have to head back to my village soon," he says. I tighten my fist and sigh at the disappointment.

"Those scars…" he says noticing my hands. I hide them behind my back.

"What about them?" I snap at him.

"There so many," he adds.

"Yeah well what do you expect from a ninja?" I tell him now feeling nervous. These scars take a lot longer than regular scars to heal and disappear and I get really bad ones when ever I use my sword.

He eyes me like he knows something I don't.

"What?" I ask anxious by his answer. "What is it with this guy and his creepy looks?" I think to myself.

"So your answer is no, what about my other question," I pause and he looks interested.

I get a weird feeling and look down realizing it is a silly thing to ask.

"Never mind," I mumble. He looks taken back and I walk away slowly. I look back and see he is starring and run off.

"Damn," I mumble. I just wasted his time and mine. Well if he won't help me train then I guess I'll have to go back to training by myself. Guy-sensei can't really help since he doesn't really know any lightning jutsus because he's sort of like Lee.

"Everyone has been so preoccupied with Sasuke leaving and the last time I saw Guy-sensei was awhile ago," I think to myself while looking around for someone to talk to.

"Ok seriously I need to focus," I get an image of Kento and bite my lip hard and walk to the training grounds.

"Alright, no more slacking!" I shout and begin.

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ A few hours later~.::.::.::.::.::~

"One more time!" I gasp and fall on the ground.

"All I've got… is this," I whisper while looking at the sword. I slowly walk to a tree and decide to take a five minute break. I climb up and lie down on a wide branch and look at the sky. I feel my eyes start to close and I take some deep breathes and allow myself to relax.

As I drift to sleep…

I walk into my house just like a normal day. I leave my shoes by the door and look around for my brother to tell him how today went. He likes hearing when I beat Kento at a game. I look around and can't find them. I see a bunch of photographs of them and I smile.

"Mom! Dad! Kyho?" I shout and run all around my house, but no sign of them.

I see our family picture cracked big and blood smeared on the front.

"What who did this?" I gasp and I bump into someone standing behind me. I drop the picture and glass spreads all over the floor.

"Oh you scared me," I mumble and see Kyho standing there with his big purple eyes and a wide grin on his face.

"Brother I was looking for you," I say with a big smile, but he doesn't say anything.

"Kento always wants to race, but I beat him today! I beat him big bro!" I say with a giggle.

"That's great sis, I'm proud of you," He says. And I turn around to pick up the glass, but see it's already gone.

"What the heck…?" I say and see Kyho is standing by the window looking out.

"Where's mom? She never leaves the house…" I tell him. He doesn't answer me and puts his hand on the window glass.

"Brother…?" He looks at the ground.

"I'm very disappointed in you Yamouri…" he says quietly.

"About what?" I ask confused and give him a curious look. All the pictures crack at once and fall down onto the ground. I shriek and put my hands on my head.

"Kyho what's going on?" I shout and see him kneel down now while still looking at the ground.

"Kyho!" I shout in anger.

"If you didn't waste your time with those pathetic people you call friends, and spent your time training then we could rest in peace finally," He says and tears start to stream down my face.

"What are you talking about!" I gasp and wipe my face.

"Why haven't you killed him yet? Are you hesitating because you still care for him?" He shouts. "I knew you wouldn't be able to do it, you've always admired him more than me."

"No brother your wrong!" I shout. He tightens his fist and breaks the window and he disappears as the breeze enters the house.

"Don't leave me! Don't leave me all alone," I sob and I let my face lay on the ground.

"I don't have anything…" I continue sobbing. "I don't even know how to find him."

I see a bird chirping on the window seal. I sit up and stumble towards it.

"All I've got is myself," I tell myself and the bird starts to fly into the woods and when I reach towards where the window was it becomes part of the wall. I look around and see the doors are gone too.

"What is this? My chest hurts…" I stutter as I feel it tighten and it becomes unbelievably hard to breathe.

"There's only one way to fix a broken heart," I remember my mom said. She said the only way was for a new love to be ministered by another person.

"Only love can fix a broken heart," I think to myself.

"I have nothing without you…" I yell as I think of their faces. The room's walls start to close in and I start yelling for help, but can't even move as the walls continue to close in more and more.

"Help!" I shout and feel myself wake up from my dream and I fall off the branch and fall down and feel myself being caught by someone. I don't even open my eyes as I think I'm still in my dream and I've just fallen.

"Yamouri?" I hear Gaara's voice. I open them and realize he's holding me bridal style. I let my legs come on the ground and feel my face turn red.

"Oh…Thanks Gaara," I tell him. He gives me a weird look. He must think I'm really odd since I just fell from the sky.

"Why do I keep seeing you everywhere," he says in a monotone.

"I was training and fell asleep," I tell him while shaking off some leaves stuck in my hair.

"So what was the other question you were going to ask?" He says.

"Why do you look at me like that? Like if you're seeing right through me," I tell him. "I know it might sound weird, but it's just a thought."

He doesn't change his expression and thinks for a second.

"Because from your eyes I can see the same pain and anger as myself, and as Sasuke's," he finally adds and I gasp and stare at him with my mouth slightly open.

"You can tell that by just looking at them?" I think to myself and a breeze goes by and a few leaves hit me in the face.


	22. Chapter 22 A New B Ranked Mission

His words remained in my head it was all I could think about. I have no idea what he was talking about, but it seemed like maybe someone could understand my pain. I look at the floating clouds and decide to go check up on everyone. It's been awhile and Neji seems to be recovering well, as well as Lee. Things are actually starting to get back to normal. Well sort of….

"Hey Yamouri, right?" I hear a very girly voice say from behind. I turn around and recognize her as one of Shikamaru's friends. She saw us one time drawing and assumed we were dating. It's hard to just be friends with a guy without the whole village asking you questions.

"Uh… Yeah who are you?" I ask and she smiles big.

"You can just call me Kimi… I'm Zai's sister," she says and I can see they are related. They don't look alike, but they both seem very annoying.

"Oh I remember you now from the Chuunin exams," I tell her so she doesn't feel weird that I totally forgot.

"Oh I was just passing through and noticed for once you weren't with Shika so I got curious," She giggles and I slightly glare at her.

"She's an idiot," I think to myself and try and think of an excuse to leave this conversation.

"Do you know where he is anyways?" She asks.

"No, I don't know where he is all the time," I sigh.

"Oh I'm sorry I just figured by the way he acts around you that you guys were…" She starts to say and sees my expression and stops.

"I should be on my way, sorry for bothering you," She says and walks away.

"Yamouri," I hear Neji's voice from behind and before Kimi is out of sight, she stops and stares at Neji. Her face turns slightly red when he glances at her as he walks by.

"Well what do you know!" I think to myself and don't even realize that Neji is walking around outside of the hospital.

"Neji!" What are you doing here?" I gasp and nearly fall over. He smirks and states that he is feeling much better and is ready to train.

"Are you crazy you need to rest," I tell him. But he is stubborn and starts to walk off.

"Neji…?" I stutter and he stops and turns around.

"Are you coming?" He asks and I quickly walk after him.

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ The next morning~.::.::.::.::.::~

I hear a knocking at my door and stumble clumsily out of bed and wipe my eyes.

"Man what is it this time…" I mumble and open the door and see Shikamaru standing there with his arms crossed. I feel my stomach drop. He looks at me with a blank look. He looks tired.

"Hey Lady Tsunade wants to see you," he says.

"This early?" I think to myself and pout and tell him I'll be out in a few minutes. I change my clothes and grab all my weapons incase it's a mission I'm being assigned. If so I wonder who will be in my group since Neji pushed himself too hard yesterday and is not in shape to travel and well Lee I'm not so sure about either. I grab my backpack and meet up with Shikamaru who is waiting outside. We walk to Lady Tsunade's office and I get a funny feeling like this isn't going to go good.

"Ah, it's about time, "She says with a grin as we walk towards her desk and stand in front.

"Great job Shikamaru," she says and looks over at me. He takes a big sigh and looks to the side.

"Am I being assigned a mission or is there something else going on…" I think to myself and she finally looks up from her papers.

"Alright you guys I've decided to assign you a special mission," She starts and I interrupt.

"Wait just us two?" I ask.

"Well I was just about to get to that. Since Naruto is gone, team 8 is out too, team six besides you is out of shape, team seven is out, team nine is busy as well and the rest of team ten is busy too. There really is no one else is there?" She pauses and looks over at Shizune."I found someone that will suit this mission perfectly; he is a Chuunin as well."

Shikamaru's head shoots up and he looks like he is about to faint.

"Wait what?" He says almost shouting.

"I don't get it…" I tell them and the door behind us opens and my mouth drops at the horrid sight. Hikaru walks in all casual and Shikamaru and I look like someone is choking us.

"I am honored my lady to be assigned to this mission," He says with a big smile and winks at me. I just about gag in my mouth.

"Well that's good news, because you don't really have a choice," she replies.

"Now to serious business, there has been a kidnapping in the hidden grass village and they have requested our help to recover the missing person. This is a B ranked mission and I'm very confident with your skills that this mission could be a success," she explains.

"A kidnapping?" I ask now very curious at the mission.

"Whose going to be in charge, me right?" Hikaru bursts out and Shika and I glare at him.

"Yes actually," She says.

"What?" We both shout.

"Be quiet!" She snaps. "Hikaru has been a Chuunin for about a year now and has been on several missions including A ranked and B ranked missions which have been a success, he is the best to be in charge so you guys will have to follow his orders," She finishes and Hikaru gives us a thumbs up and glares at Shika.

"Don't worry guys I'll take good care of you," he grins big. "And if you get scared Shika I won't hold your hand," he says.

"Are you guys ready?" The hokage asks. We turn and look at her and nod.

Hikaru tries to lead us to the door, but we walk ahead of him and he looks angered with Shikamaru.

"This is going to be a loooong mission," I think to myself and let out a big sigh.

"Alright do we have everything?" Hikaru says in a serious tone. I give him a funny look because even his voice has gotten a little deeper instead of that annoying girly voice of his.

"Let's go," he yells and starts to run and Shikamaru and I stay behind. After a few minutes he looks back and sees we are way behind.

"The weather is so nice today," I mention to Shika he nods and Hikaru yells at us.

"You guys seriously! " He says in his feminine voice.

"What?" I ask looking at him he looks at the ground and makes and angry pouty look.

"Don't treat me like a drag," he says and I stop walking and look back at him. Shikamaru stops and looks back curious to why I stopped.

It hit me that I know nothing at all about this boy and I've been treating him like this. Maybe he's like Naruto and acts that way to hide the fact that he's alone.

"I'm sorry Hikaru," I tell him Shikamaru makes a face and Hikaru smiles and starts to walk ahead and we follow after him.

"Hey I just noticed I've never seen Hikaru fight," I whisper to Shikamaru who makes a serious face.

"I haven't either," he whispers back and crosses his arms.

"Alright we just keep going straight and then make a left turn, I think," Hikaru explains.

"You're the one in charged. You're suppose to know," Shikamaru says. I roll my eyes and Hikaru sasses him.

"Grow up you guys!" I'm getting tired of this bickering," I snap at them and they continue walking.

I get a flashback of when Kyho and Kento and I would use to go to this lake and skip rocks and try and catch frogs and on the way they would always argue back and forth just like these two.

"I seriously need to stop remembering such stupid things," I tell myself and Hikaru and Shika call after me and I snap out of my zoning out and run after them.

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ A few hours later~.::.::.::.::.::~

"We'll arrive there tomorrow and then we can find out what's going on, and then we can go from there," Hikaru explains. It's starting to get dark out so we make plans to find somewhere to camp over night.

"This spot is perfect," Hikaru says. He throws down his backpack by a tree stump and takes a seat on the ground.

"Lady Tsunade gave me the directions to this guy's house," Hikaru says while holding a picture of what looks like a very important person.

"Apparently he is the father of this missing person," he adds.

"I guess we just have to wait till tomorrow to find out all the rest," I tell him while getting comfy in my sleeping bag. Shikamaru prepares the small fire and I take out some chips to eat and look over and see Hikaru eating donuts.

"Where'd you get the donuts?" I shout noticing him stuff the last one in his mouth.

"Num um hum," He mumbles and a piece of donut comes out.

"We'll go ahead and eat away fatty…" I whisper to myself and continue eating chips.

"Shinobi like us should be eating healthy, not eating junk food all the time," Shikamaru lectures Hikaru.

"I'm not the one with a fat friend!" Snaps Hikaru.

"Don't talk about Choji like that!" He shouts back and I put a pillow over my head to try and drown out the sound of their bickering.

"Well quit trying to take charge! I've been a Chuunin waaay longer than you have and have done more A and B ranked missions than you!" Yells Hikaru.

"You guys…" I say soothingly.

"That doesn't make a difference if you can't act your age," Shikamaru adds.

"Oh quit being so jealous Shikamaru, your embarrassing yourself," He snaps at him.

"You guys….!" I add and they continue talking back and forth.

"Why don't you talk with your fists Shikamaru!" Hikaru shouts and starts to take out a shuriken.

"That's exactly why you are not emotionally mature to be in charge," Shikamaru says. "You don't solve everything with fighting."

"You're the one that always judges everything I do! What's your problem anyways? Do you feel threatened by me?" Hikaru says. I look at Shikamaru's change of expression and he looks like a balloon that's about to pop.

"If I remember right, you're the one that started fighting with me," Shikamaru adds. I lie back down and groan really loudly and place the pillow over my face.

"You guys go to sleep…!" I moan and they continue.

"Quit being a hypocrite!" Hikaru shouts.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" I shout. "I'm trying to get some damn sleep over here!"

They both turn to me surprised like they forgot I was even there.

"Yeah Shikamaru quit being such a dramatic girl," Hikaru says.

"Urg! Shut up!" Shikamaru snaps. They get into battle stance. And Hikaru starts to throw a shuriken.

"Stop!" I gasp and throw a shuriken to block it and then punch Hikaru in the stomach and Shikamaru in the face and then walk back to my sleeping bag. I lie down and take a deep breath and let myself finally get to sleep.

~::.::.::.::.:: ~ A few hours later~.::.::.::.::.::~

I wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air. I look around and see Shikamaru has fallen asleep on his turn for watch.

"Hm…" I think to myself and start to walk towards this hill I saw earlier on our way over here.

It's got a nice view of a waterfall and the water looks like a light shade of blue in the moonlight.

I take a seat by the tree. I look up at the stars that are super bright tonight.

"If only…" I whisper while looking down at the falling water thinking of the old times.

The water almost looks like its sparkling.

I hug my knees towards my chest and place my chin between my knees. I watch the fireflies buzz around in the sky and just realize what a beautiful spot this is.

I take a big sigh and try and shake off the nightmare and hear footsteps behind me. I shoot my head back and see Shikamaru standing there scratching his head.

"Sorry did I scare you?" he asks. I shake my head.

"Wow this place looks amazing," He gasps and looks around.

"What are you doing up?" Shikamaru asks.

"I couldn't go back to sleep," I mumble.

I look and see my star is twinkling. Shikamaru takes a seat next to me and I give him a funny look. The fireflies come towards us and buzz all around us making circles. We start laughing and stand up and I trip and my face falls in Shikamaru's chest.

"Why does this always happen?" I think to myself.

"Sorry…"We both say at the same time and look at each other.

The fireflies begin to buzz around us again and the air seems to be sparkling. Our faces really close and I quickly step away.

I pick up a rock and throw it over the hill and it seems like five minutes before it makes a splash at the bottom

"We should head back," Shikamaru says. I look into the water and see Kento's reflection in it.

I gasp and turn around fast and see nothing is there besides Shikamaru.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asks and comes and looks for himself, but it's gone.

I throw another rock in that spot with force and walk off back to the campsite without a word.

Shikamaru has a puzzled look and stays after for a bit to try and figure out what it was that I saw. If only he knew.


	23. Chapter 23 The Missing Girl

"Alright we're almost there!" Hikaru shouts enthusiastically.

"He reminds me so much of Naruto," I whine and rub my eyes. I couldn't go back to sleep after what I saw.

"I wonder if the guy we're meeting is rich," Hikaru says while scratching his chin.

"Didn't you see his clothing in the picture?" I tell him. "It's so obvious we must be dealing with someone that's the head of their clan."

"Oh you're so smart Yamouri!" He cheers I roll my eyes.

We just entered a bamboo forest, so we must be close.

"I don't think I've ever been to the grass village," I tell them.

"Oh there's a first for everything!" Hikaru adds.

"Ugh!" Shikamaru says and falls to his knees.

"What's wrong?" I ask and see him making a sick face.

"My bag seems so heavy," He gasps. I open it and see a bunch of rocks.

"What the hell…?" I ask him and show him and he makes an angry face. We turn and see Hikaru's face red from holding laughter.

"Whoops," he says and Shikamaru empties his bag and storms off in front.

"Oh Oh…" I sigh and Hikaru makes a pleased look.

"I think you really ticked him off this time," I tell him.

"Oh we're just messing around," He says.

"Why do act like this?" I snap at him. His eyes widen.

"If you're a Chuunin then you should act like one," I tell him and walk ahead. He stays behind looking at the ground.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright this is it," Shikamaru says while we stand outside a gate. Inside looks like a really big house.

The grass village isn't very big. I look around and see little kids running around and people carrying stalks of Bamboo.

"What's his name anyways?" I ask.

"I guess we'll find out," he adds.

"Where's Hikaru?" I ask and he looks angered by the name.

"That Idiot is supposed to be here," He adds and then the gates open.

"Hikaru!" I shout and people turn and look at me.

"Let's go, we'll look for him later," Shika says and nudges me and the gates close behind us.

The house is huge and two men start to walk towards us.

"Are you the leaf Shinobi they sent over?" They ask a bit surprised.

"Yes we are, there's one another person," Shika tells them.

"I see, Master Shizo is waiting for you, come this way," One of the guys says and starts to lead us inside. The other guy goes behind us.

"Shizo!" I think to myself. They lead us down many hallways and we finally make it to the main room. They open the doors and we see a man sitting behind a screen.

"Master Shizo, your requested help has arrived," They say in unison.

They remove the screen and reveal a not too old looking man. He takes out the pipe from his mouth and opens his eyes and looks at us.

"Kids…?." He whispers.

He assures them they'll be fine and tells them they can leave now.

He has light brown hair and he's wearing fine robes.

"So where is the other ninja?" He asks serious now.

"Oh well we aren't sure," I tell him.

"I see…" He adds. "Now down to business."

"My daughter…. Has been kidnapped by the Yogi clan," He says almost pouting.

"Yogi Clan? What makes you think they did? And who exactly is the Yogi clan?" Shikamaru butts in.

"Because the Yogi clan has been envious of my daughter's beauty and have bribed us many times for her to marry their eldest son, but we refused. So they sent some ninjas over night and took her away. We sent some of our men over and they never came back… Only one that was close to death and told us the valuable information of where they are keeping her and then he passed." He says.

"I see… Ninjas, eh?" Shikamaru asks. I roll my eyes.

"I suppose some foreigners from a different country, I'm not exactly sure, but I'm asking for you to save her, please!" He begs and gets on his knees.

"Don't worry we will, " We assure him and they give us the directions of where the secret hideout of the Yogi clan is. The other ninja open the door for us. They lead us out and close the gate behind us again.

"Okay that was a little weird," I tell him and he nods.

"Man this is gonna be such a drag," He whines. I see a man coming out of a shop holding a cup of tea. He locks eyes with me and drops the cup.

The person behind the counter asks if he's ok and the man stares at me like he's seen a ghost.

"Hey, let's go," Shikamaru says not even noticing this.

"What's with that man?" I whisper to myself as I follow after Shikamaru. I look back at him as he continues starring after us. He has a very noticeable scar on his face and he looks like the age of my father.

"He looks like he recognizes me, but I don't remember ever seeing him," I think to myself.

"Man where did that idiot go?" Shikamaru says annoyed.

"Hikaru!" I shout.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"There he is!" I shout and point at him sitting on a rock.

"Hey you missed all of the important stuff, what were you doing?" Shika asks him annoyed.

"Silence," Hikaru says and we stare at him puzzled.

"I already know all about it, while you guys were catching up I already started researching.

"Wait what?" We both shout in unison.

"Apparently the Yogi clan has more than one hideout. So in order to find the girl we need to determine which one was the last one because they most likely moved her," He explains. Shikamaru tells him the place Shizo explained to us and he nods.

"Wow Hikaru might turn out to be an even better strategist than Shikamaru," I think to myself and even Shikamaru looks surprised by his sudden seriousness.

"Alright how do we find this other hideout then?" I ask trying to get into the conversation.

"Already thought out. While you guys were in there I was looking around and saw a few people sneaking around in the traditional Yogi robes and followed them. Unfortunately they disappeared…So all we gotta do is find them again," he says and we start to walk back into the village. He explains that they looked suspicious and had scars which a normal villager wouldn't have unless he was a ninja. (Duh).

"You know that the other ninja Shizo sent have failed in rescuing her right?" I tell him. He nods and I give him a surprised look. Shikamaru smirks and crosses his arms.

"Alright this is how we divide, I'll cover the northern area of this village, Yamouri you take the middle and Shikamaru you take the South, We'll meet in the spot you guys found me by nightfall and tell me what you discovered," Hikaru says.

"Got it?" He asks. We nod and then we split up.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few hours later ::.::.::.::.::~

"This is such a waste of time! I've been walking in circles for hours," I say under my breath.

"This is gotta be the dumbest plan I've ever done, and this whole mission is stupid," I think to myself and lean against a building and cross my arms.

I think back to the picture Shizo showed us of his daughter, but this whole thing seems a little fishy. I mean he didn't seem that distressed of the fact that his daughter was kidnapped.

"This blows," I pout and look over and see a man with bluish hair entering a building. It looks like he's wearing the thing Hikaru described.

I notice he was wearing a headband, but couldn't make out what the sign was. If I remember correctly they were hired from another village. I walk into the building and see it's a darkish room and people sitting at the counters drinking shots.

"A bar?" I think to myself and look around for the man.

People give me creepy hostile looks and I scan the room and see him entering a back room. I walk across the room and someone breaks their glass and I look over and they stare at me.

"Ugh," I grunt and just about turn the door knob when someone's arm extends in front of the door. I look up and see a creepy looking ninja looking down at me.

"Can I help you little girl?" He says in a raspy disgusting voice.

"I need to get through," I glare at him. He gives me a big grin.

"No can do missy," he says and some other guys stand up and cross their arms I look around and quickly realize there are about 20 men here.

"I don't wanna cause trouble," I mumble.

They start to laugh loud and some step closer.

I reach for the knob again and he grabs my hand and I quickly flip him over my back and slam him into the ground. The other guys charge at me and I take out some kunai knives and throw it at their legs. I manage to hit some, but others take out swords.

I jump up and land on the counter and break some bottles on the ground.

I take out some string and tie some up. They start coming at me in all directions. I bounce from one end of the room to another and chairs are being flung everywhere.

"What is all the noise out here for?" Shouts a voice. I look over at the door and see the blue haired guy. He looks at all his men on the floor and sees me without a scratch standing on the counter.

"Hm, your that leaf ninja," he mumbles.

"What do you want?" he asks angered.

"I just need to ask you a few questions, I suggest you cooperate or you'll end up like your friends here," I threaten him and he laughs.

"Sorry, but that's not gonna happen," he says with a smirk and the floor underneath me seems to be sinking and I look down and slide down into a dark tube.

"Aah!" I gasp as I feel myself falling down fast. "I can't see anything!"

"Shika! Hikaru!" I scream and feel myself finally hit the ground and a sharp pain goes through my body and my eyes close.

~::.::.::.::.:: Meanwhile ::.::.::.::.::~

"Where is she? We told her nightfall, "Hikaru whines.

Shikamaru looks around curiously then sits down.

"She'll show up, "Shikamaru assures him. A few more minutes pass and still no sign of Yamouri.

"Something's not right, "Shikamaru tells Hikaru while looking around for any signs.

"I thought you said she was coming?" He says sarcastically.

Shikamaru starts walking off towards the village.

"Hey wait up!" Hikaru shouts while running after him.

"Maybe she found something and isn't done investigating yet," Hikaru tells him.

"Nah, she would have done something to let us know," Shikamaru replies.

"You seem to know everything about her," Hikaru says.

Shikamaru gives him an annoyed look.

"It's not like that," he assures him. "She's like a sister."

"Well I don't think you know everything about her," Hikaru says.

"No one can know everything about a person," Shikamaru says.

"Yeah well I don't think you understand," Hikaru tells him. "You have no idea."

"Like you would know anymore than I," He snaps at him. "Now down to business like where did she go."

"Man whatever," Hikaru says and walks off.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later::.::.::.::.::~

"Ugggh," I moan as I slowly sit myself up and notice I'm in a cellar like thing. The only light is a tiny hole in the roof with the moonlight shining in.

"What…? Where am I?" I whisper while feeling around for a way out. The walls are made out of concrete rock.

"Hello?" I yell and my voice just echoes and no other sound.

"Hello?" I shout again. And step on a patch that sinks down. The wall across the room opens and when I take my foot off it closes again. I do it again and realize I only have seconds to get across the room and to the other side before it closes.

"Alright Yami!" I shout and step on it and begin to run towards it, but just before I go through it, the wall closes almost catching me in it.

"Alright one more time!" I do it again and amazingly I pass through, but just barely as it rips part of my green sleeve.

I look down and see long hallways with the other end pitch dark and only a few candles along the way.

"What is this place…" I whisper. I start to walk down slowly and hear someone scratching the wall.

"Hello?" I say a little louder.

No response. I start to walk towards the sound and see a barred cellar. Inside there sits someone in a chair. I gasp at the realization of who it is and drop my bag.


	24. Chapter 24 Mission Success

"Hmm!" She tries to yell. Her mouth is covered and she's tied up good.

"Are you Master Shizo's Daughter?" I ask coming up to the cell bars. She nods and looks tired. I look around for someone else coming.

"I wonder if this will work," I think to myself while looking around.

I pull it out of its case and like many times before it transforms and I let my chakra flow threw and slice through the bars with ease. I step in and quickly untie her. Her long blonde hairs fall down to her waist and she's wearing a light blue robe.

"I'm a Shinobi your father hired to find you, don't worry you'll be home safe in no time," I assure her and she doesn't say a word she just nods. I'm sure they will probably be coming soon since.

"By the way what is your name?" I ask her.

" Nakada," She mumbles.

I lead the girl through the hallway that I came from only the end is now just another wall.

"What the hell?" I gasp and she gives me a funny look. She looks like maybe like my age maybe a little older.

"Where did the hall go?" I say out loud.

"Don't tell me you don't even know what you're doing," She says in a bratty tone. I give her a surprised look.

"Where do you think you're going?" I hear a voice say and turn around and see the blue haired ninja standing there with the girl unconscious and in his arms.

"Sorry, but it's not going to be that easy," He says and I quickly do my hand sings. He looks shocked and starts to step back. I throw something and a puff of smoke comes up.

"Where'd she go?" He says angered as the smoke clears up. I punch his face and he falls back and I take the girl and start to run. I hear him groan angrily and look back and see he is gone.

"Must be Genjutsu. Release!" I shout and the hallway appears again and we start to run.

"We need to get out of here and fast," I whisper to the girl.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

The girl has finally awakened and is running by herself.

"I don't know where the way out is," I think to myself feeling like we've been running in the same hallway back and forth.

"This way!" She shouts leading down another one which leads to a dead end.

"Oh man…Shikamaru would say what a drag…" I think to myself.

"Alright time for desperate measures… I don't know how this is going to work out, but it's worth a try!" I shout and tell her to stand behind me. I make a barrier box around her and begin to do my lightning jutsu. I send a charge of lightning threw the ground and towards the wall and the ground starts to rumble and it gets very dusty in there. I do it again several times aiming at the same spot and the ground starts to crack.

"Aaaah!" I shout. Suddenly a big explosion occurs and I fly back.

I open my eyes and stand up and see the collapsed wall. I see the girl crawled into a ball inside my barrier and I run towards her and grab her hand we run out of there.

We see three ninja waiting at the end and one is the blue haired ninja.

"Going somewhere?" one of them says in a raspy voice.

The girl makes a sound like she's about to cry and I get into my battle stance.

"It's not going to be easy, but maybe I can get some training in," I think to myself.

"Let's finish this quickly, "says the blue haired ninja. He raises a staff like thing with a sword as the end. He does some hand signs and then throws flames at us. I use my barrier. He disappears and does it again several times from different directions.

"Thunder up jutsu!" I yell.

He appears behind me and puts his arm around my neck and begins to tighten it.

"Grab the girl!" He shouts and the other two go for her. Suddenly they freeze in their spots and can't move.

"What's wrong with you two?" He shouts angered by their lack of movement.

"Need any help Yamouri?" Shouts Hikaru.

I look over and see Shikamaru and Hikaru standing there smiling. Hikaru grabs the girl and takes her to a tree. Shikamaru has them in his shadow possession jutsu and I become invisible and the blue haired ninja becomes confused.

"Stupid girl!" He shouts and I kick him and he flies back.

"I'll show you what a real ninja can do!" I shout and take out my sword and hesitate for a second, but then swing at him clumsily and a beam of electricity goes threw him and he falls back.

"What the?" Hikaru gasps and I look down at my sword which is now a knife again... I didn't know it was going to do that.

"What was that?" Hikaru asks confused. Good thing neither him nor Shika saw the sword, only the electricity.

"I look over at the laying ninja and his body starts to melt into the ground.

"What the hell?" I yell. And suddenly a fist pops out of the ground underneath me and it punches under my chin and I hear a crack sound as I fling up in the air and fly towards the ground head first.

"Yamouri!" Hikaru and Shikamaru shout at the same time and Hikaru catches me.

"Girl shinobi aren't meant to be fighters," He says and I sit up and tighten my fist.

"Take that back!" I yell angrily.

"Shika! Hikaru! Get the girl out of here!" I tell them as they finish up with the other ninja. They nod and start to head off, but the blue haired uses his staff to make spears of flames at them and I use my barrier to shield them. They look back at me and I nod.

"Your opponent is me," I tell him angrily. He smirks.

"Very well then, this shouldn't take long," He says and I tighten my fist.

"Don't underestimate me," I say bitterly. I throw a bunch of kunai at him and all he does is twirl his staff.

"Don't make me laugh," he says in a monotone. "Give me real battle, take out that sword of yours again," He says. I step back and look down at it.

"Oh don't tell me you don't know how to control it," he says. I continue looking down at it.

"Maybe if I swing it, it'll do it again," I think to myself and do it. Nothing happens.

The ninja starts laughing and I make a lightning ball and throw it at him. He dodges it and I come at him with more.

"Some ninja you are," he says. I throw my sword on the ground and it transforms.

He does some hand signs and creates fire walls around me that start to come in.

I make a bubble around me as the walls close around me. The heat seems to penetrate threw the walls and it suddenly feels like 400 degrees in there.

"Ugh!" I shout and use a substitution jutsu as the bubble gives in and opens.

I look down from a tree and the ninja comes at me with his staff/ spear.

I take out my sword again and he knocks it out of my hand. As it falls it does the same thing it did to me that one time I was training. It sends lightning bolt spears at him and pin him to a tree. One stabs him in the side and another through his shoulder and they disappear as he falls to the ground and a gush of blood squirts out of his mouth. He looks dead.

"Yamouri!" Calls Hikaru.

I see Hikaru running towards me and I let out a big sigh.

He waves and I smile.

~::.::.::.::.:: An hour later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Thank you so much!" Says Master Shizo as he bows to us.

"On don't worry, it's all part of our job," I say with a smile. The door opens and a blonde haired boy walks in and smiles.

"Oh thank you so much for rescuing my sister," he says. I slightly blush as he takes my hand and kisses my hand.

"Oh… Yeah…." I say shyly and Hikaru just about slaps him, but I smack his hand down.

"I'm very sorry for all the trouble I have caused," says Nakada.

"We'll we should get going, we have to report this all to Lady Tsunade," Hikaru says. Shizo nods and his guards lead us out the gate.

"So how did you guys find us?" I ask now realizing it.

"Oh Shikamaru did that…" Hikaru says annoyingly.

"Really?" I ask looking over at him. He's walking ahead with his hands in his pockets.

"Shika…?" I think to myself and bump into someone.

"Oh sorry miss," He says. I look up and recognize him as the guy who was starring at me earlier.

"Oh it's no problem," I tell him. He nods and keeps starring and I look back at him.

"What is up with that guy?" I think to myself.

"What a successful mission!" Shouts Hikaru.

"Oh gosh I didn't see Hikaru fight again," I think to myself and feel saddened.

"So what kind of jutsu was that you used with that guy?" Hikaru asks.

"Which one?" I give him a puzzled look.

"The one that was like a bolt of lightning and shot threw him," he says. I bite my tongue and try and think of an excuse.

"Oh it's just a new one I've been working on," I tell him.

"Oh I see," He replies. I can't stop thinking about that man. The way he looked at me was like I don't know like he knew who I was.

"Hikaru I wanted to see your fighting style…" I tell him. He smirks.

"Maybe next time," he says and I look down at the ground.

"What's with him," I whisper to Hikaru while pointing at Shikamaru.

"I'm not sure… and I don't really care," He whispers back.

"Shika…!" I start to say and feel the ground start to rumble. He turns to the side and we do too and giant boulders are coming at us fast.

I start to do my hand signs for my barrier and realize my foot is stuck. There's a vine wrapped around it and it suddenly starts to pull and I fall to my side.

"Yamouri!" Hikaru yells. The other vines wrap around my body and I can't move.

"Aaah!" I gasp as the boulder is just seconds away from crushing me.

The boulders in the blink of an eye are destroyed. Hikaru cuts me free and I look over at Shikamaru whose just starring in surprise.

"What just happened?" I think to myself. "Was that Hikaru who did that? That was so fast I didn't even catch that."

"What the hell was with that vine?" I say loudly.

"I don't know, but here comes more!" Shouts Hikaru. "You wanna take these?" He asks while looking at Shikamaru.

"What's with him? Why is he so quiet…?" I think to myself.

"Shikamaru?" I shout now impatient.

"Damn it," I say under my breath as me and Hikaru jump out of our spots as the boulders come crashing down.

"Why aren't you doing anything?" I shout at him. He gives me an annoyed look.

"This isn't like him…" I think to myself.

"Watch out!" Hikaru shouts. Shikamaru runs at me with a kunai in his hand.

"What are you doing?" I gasp at the surprise and take out my kunai.

"Shikamaru!" I shout and he gives me a blank look.

"Who are you," I say angrily. He grins big and transforms to the blue haired ninja. He has a blood stain n his side and shoulder and his body is all scratched up.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave this village," he says. More boulders start flying at us. Ones that are sizes of houses.

"Where is Shikamaru?" I shout at him and he just gives me another grin.

"Yami I'll handle the rocks, you finish this guy off," Hikaru says and goes towards the direction of where the rocks are coming from.

"Shikamaru…" I think to myself.

"Aren't you glad to see me?" he says mockingly and takes out his spear again.

"Oh just peachy!" I shout and use my lightning wave jutsu and he jumps up in the air.

"If you're from the leaf village than why do you only know lightning based techniques?" He asks now curious.

"Take out your sword, then we will have a real battle," He says strictly. I look down at my injured hands that still burn from the last time I used it.

"Just what I guessed, you don't know how to use it or even where it came from," He says.

"Well I'll be glad to show you the true power of my tokoju," he says and he flings it and it makes a fire tornado type thing and then it comes at me fast.

"Ugh!" I shout as I make a shield to reflect it.

"Your barriers are too weak," He says. And I make another one under it and another one.

I start to feel worn out while trying to hold my shields.

"Damn it he's right…" I think to myself.

"Pathetic!" He makes spears again and they come at me from a different direction. I jump out as the flame tornado flops to the spot I just was. I look up and the spears are coming right at me.

I make another one and didn't realize there was one coming from underneath and he stabs me in the side and it pins me to a tree.

"Uggh!" I scream. He starts to do something with his hands and I look down at the ground.

"Please help me," I think to myself while looking down at my sword.

"If you know how to use it then help me, just this once," I think to myself while looking up at the sky.

I rip out the spear from my side and I hear a gush of blood hit the ground and I hold my side.

I pick it up clumsily. And he starts to laugh.

"If I was meant to use this, then let me," I whisper and I feel a charge of energy enter my body and I look down at it as it slightly glows. The guy gives me a weird look.

I raise it up and then I twirl it around and run at him.

I feel like I'm having an out of body experience. The ninja gets ready his staff and sets it on fire and in a flash I appear behind him and slash my sword breaking his staff in three.

"What the hell?" he shouts.

"Where is my friend?" I shout. He doesn't say anything and starts to do some hand signs.

I make a circular motion towards the sky, but it's like the sword has a mind of its own and I'm just wielding it.

A bolt of lightning shoots down towards him and then a bright beam making an explosion like scene and a strong wind current. I use my barrier to avoid being flung back. He drops to the ground.

The sword quickly transforms to its original state and the effects start to take over and it feels like my hands are on fire. I go on my knees and try to hold in the sounds of pain that want to come out. I fall to my side holding my hands to my chest.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Yamouri?" Shouts Hikaru I open my eyes and see Shikamaru and Hikaru running towards me.

"What happened here?" They ask and I look around at the destruction.

"I don't really know," I say trying to smile.

"Oh you're hurt!" Shouts Hikaru.

"Oh I'll be fine," I say trying to smile. I slowly stand up and see they have slight injuries as well.

"We should head back," Shikamaru says and I nod. They walk ahead and my hands continue burning. I hold my side and Shikamaru just notices it. He puts my arm around his shoulder and Hikaru gives him an annoyed look.

"Shika where were you?" I ask softly.

"I got stuck," he says with a little smile.

"Oh, don't get stuck again," I say trying not to laugh. Hikaru rolls his eyes at us. He runs ahead and picks something off the ground and hides it behind his back.

"What do you got there?" I ask him he smiles big and hands me a forget me not flower. My face goes to a frown as I stare at it. Like I'm afraid to touch it.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?" Hikaru says sadly.

"Oh I do, thanks Hikaru," I say and take it out of his hands and just continue starring at it as old memories flow threw my head.


	25. Chapter 25 Hokage's Secret and Bugs!

"Yamouri are you sure you're ok?" Asks Hikaru. I nod slowly and feel myself wanting to fall over, but Shikamaru tightens his grip and my face falls on his chest. I'm too weak to lift it so I just let it rest there.

"Maybe we should stop," Hikaru says and tries to take me on his shoulder, but Shikamaru tells him maybe later.

"She needs to lay down she's lost a lot of blood! Shes light headed!" Hikaru snaps at him. He gives him a glare. There voices seem to be getting quietier.

"Shikamaru, if you do that your only going to make her loose more," Hikaru whines and tries to take my arm again.

"Sorry Hikaru, but she is already comfy," He says.

"Yeah you win this time, but there are somethings you'll never win at," Hikaru says .

"Hey… Yami," Shikamaru whispers in my ear and I open my eyes.

"We're gonna stop for a second and try and bandage you as well as we can and then bring you on my back, kay?"

"Oh… that won't really be necessary…" I stumble to my feet and he looks shocked at my sudden burst of energy.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few hours later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Not bad you guys, only minor injuries," Says Lady Tsunade. The nurse gave me some nasty pea soup. Shikamaru tells the hokage something. I try to ignore the group of people at the foot of my bed.

"How's Neji? And Lee?" I ask interrupting their chat.

"They're both fine, " She says with a smile.

"We're fine," I hear Neji say. I get out of bed and grab my backpack.

"Oh good, we have a lot to work on," I say quietly while heading to the door. Everyone gives me a weird look.

"Um…Yami you should stay in bed," Hikaru says and I glare at him.

"She's just as stubburn as Naruto…" Lady Tsunade says.

As I turn the hall I bump into a green vest.

"Yamouri! What are you doing out of bed?" Asks Guy-sensei.

"Oh I haven't seen you in like forever guy sensei," I tell him wit ha half smile.

"Yes, well I've been busy helping Lee cooperate….I'm sorry I've kind of neglected you and Neji," He giggles and does his shiny smile thing.

"Well I think you kind of owe us…" I say mockingly. He sighs big.

"Where do you guys wanna go?" He asks as Neji and Lee walk up behind us.

"Oh how about some barbeque!" Shouts Lee.

"Good idea Lee!" He shouts and does a thumbs up and they skip ahead of us as we walk out of the hospital.

"So how was the mission?" Neji asks.

"Oh it went ok…" I tell him while putting my hands in my pockets.

"Look Yami what I found!" Lee shouts and shows me a mushroom like the ones I use to carry around.

"Lee where did you get that?" I shout and he puts it in his mouth.

"Noooooooooooooo!" I shout and make him spit it out and it lands on Neji's face.

"Oooh…."I say quietly and he glares at us. I put my hand on my mouth and try not to burst out laughing and Lee does the same, but does a worse job and I hear little giggles slip out.

He sighs and we burst out.

"Alright guys over here!" Guy-sensei calls from the door of the restaurant and we walk over.

"Good choice Guy-sensei!" Shouts Lee.

"Wait I picked the restaurant though…." I try to tell him, but he runs towards Guy so fast he doesn't even hear me.

Neji makes another big sigh.

"Poor Neji must feel like the only mature one in the group," I think to myself.

"Hurry up guys!" Yells Lee while waving from the door. We bth glare at them.

"Why must they always be over energized…" I whisper to Neji.

"I don't even know…" He says back.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Bye guys!" I shout and wave good bye to my team.

Suddenly someone appears in front of me wearing an anbu black op mask.

"What the…" I say to myself.

"Yamouri Kesaki, The hokage needs to see you," He says and I nod and he disappears.

I hurry tp her office, not knowing what to think. It couldn't be another mission, I just got back from one. Maybe something else came up or she needs me to do earrings I don't really know. As I walk up the stairs I notice an Anbu on the roof top looking down at me. For some odd reason it seems familiar. I continue walking with my hands in my pockets.

"Lady Hokage?" I ask while stepping in. She looks up from her papers and lady Shizune stands by her and gives me concerned look.

What's this about?" I ask.

"It's about Kento," She says.

My stomach drops at the mentioning of his name and I grind my teeth back in forth.

"What about him?" I ask in a tone that's a bit aggravated.

"I have sources telling me you made contact with him recently, but you tried to keep it a secret. We have a very high concern for you Yamouri," She says.

"How did they...?" I think to myself and clench my fist.

"Neji and Naruto didn't say anything about it, but I can tell by the way you've been acting since you came back from that mission. I've also had someone watching you an have reported you train during most of the night by yourself," She says and raises her eyebrow.

I look down at the ground and try and calm myself down. Those strange feelings of someone watching me was because someone actually was there.

"You've been spying on me…" I say bitterly.

"Yes and I have every right too, we don't want a repetition of the Sasuke situation. The village can't afford to loose another shinobi. I know how you feel, but I need you to promise me something," I look up and Shizune and her haven't taken their eyes off me.

"What?" I ask.

"I need you to promise to you won't do anything reckless…and…follow in Sasukes footsteps," She says sternly.

"I have the choice to leave when I want too…." I almost say to her, but decide to keep it in my head. I nod in agreement and she excuses me.

When the door closes behind me. I clench my fist so hard my palms start bleeding.

"It's not your decision to make…" I think to myself.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

Lady Tsunade lets out a big sigh.

"Lady Tsundae…That girl seems to have a mind of her own," Shizune tells her.

"Yes I know…There really is no way to convince her otherwise, but it was worth a try…" She says.

"Only her friends can help her cope and hopefully she will choose the right descion in the end… all we can do is wait," Lady Tsunade stands up and walks out of the office. Shizune looks down at Yamouri's profile and stares.

"I need some fresh air," I tell myself and find a roof top kind of hidden. I lay down and listen to the leaves rustle in the breeze.

"Aah too much to think," I say quietly. I turn to my side. And try really hard to clear my thoughts.

"I need a vacation…something…" I think to myself.

"That's right, shes been having someone watching me randomly," I whisper to myself and feel no vibe of anyone else around.

"I wonder how my old village looks like now," I think to myself. "I should plan to travel there by myself and see for myself."

"I wonder what Sasuke is doing right now… and Gaara… and I wonder where Kento is," I look around again and start to walk into town with my hands in my pockets. A new habibt I've picked up from Shikamaru.

"If I'm serious about looking for him, how do I start?"I think to myself and bite my lip. I stop by a grocery story and buy some apples.

"I bet that guy on the roof was the one stalking me," I say quietly and squish in apple in my hand.

"Yamouri long time no see," I hear a very small voice say. I turn around and see Hinata looking at me smiling.

"Hey! It's been a very long time," I say back with a smile. "What have you been up too?" I ask her.

"Oh just got back from a mission with Shino," She says. I see shino comeing towards us and I get a shiver down my spine remembering the fact that he lets bugs crawl all over him all day.

"Freak…" I say under my breath.

"Hey Hinata there you are," Shino says. He looks over at me and makes a stink face. "Oh its you…Long time no see."

"Whats that suppose to mean huh?" I say a bit louder he cringes his face only I can't really tell what his eyes look like because he always wear those stupid sunglasses.

"Well if you must know…" He start to say and HInata says his name to stop.

"No its ok Hinata…Let's hear what this bug weirdo has to say," I tell her and give him a nasty glare.

"I am not a weirdo!" He shouts.

'Oh yes you are!" I shout back and make a fist.

"Are they at it again?" I hear Kiba's voice say. I haven't seen him since that time I visited him in the hospital after the failure of the Sasuke rescue mission.

"Oh Kiba," Hinata says in her calm voice.

"I can hear you two from a mile away," Kiba says.

"It's Shino's fault, " I tell him he rolls his eyes as Shino starts a lecture about manners.

"Are you saying I don't have manners now?" I snap at him and he takes a step back.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about, that attitude," He snaps back.

"You!" I shout and Kiba holds me back and Hinata stands in the middle.

"You guys please calm down," She says.

"Sorry…" We both say in unison and I give him another glare.

"So are you doing anything for lunch?" Hinata asks. Kiba and Shino look at me too.

"Not really…" I say quietly.

"Oh well we were going to stop by to get some barbeque, do you want to come along with us?" She says sweetly. I hear Shino moan no.

"I'd love too," I tell her and give Shino another look and Kiba gives me a funny face.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Oh this is sooo good!" I hear Choji yell from inside the restaurant. We walk in and I notice Shikamaru and his team. Asuma waves at us. I avoid them and Kiba waves back.

"Hey Yami aren't you going to eat with Shika?" Kiba asks.

"Why would I?" I say blankly and find a booth on the other side of the restuarnt. It can't be helped every seat has a view of their table. I don't get why he is literally everywhere.

"Damn… why are they everywhere?" I think to myself.

"Oh I get it, your avoiding him," Kiba says. I give him a confused look.

"Did something happen and now your ashamed?" He asks now curious and rasies his eye brow.

"Uh no. Shouldn't you be with Kaira, your cat girlfriend," I snap at him and his face turns slightly red.

"She's not my girlfriend!" He snaps at me still red.

"And Shikamaru is nothing more than a friend," I say calmly. He gives up and takes a big sigh and sits across from me. Hinata takes a seat next to me and Shino next to Kiba.

"Oh YUM!" We hear Choji yell at the other end. I slap my forehead.

"Geeze that kid could eat a bus if it had barbeque sauce on it," Kiba says in a whisper. We order some pork. I notice a bug crawl on Shino's face.

"Aaah!" I shout and fall out of my chair.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asks surpised. Shino lets out a "HeHe" Laugh and I stand up and brush my clothes I see Shikamaru and Ino starring over.

"Boy Yamouri sure is acting weird," Asuma whispers to his team.

"When isn't she?' Ino says with a little laugh.

"Shikamaru you're awfully quiet over there," Asuma tells him and he contines looking down at his sizzling piece of pork.

"You don't know everything about her," Hikaru's words repeating in Shikamaru's head.

"Alright time to eat!" Shouts Kiba and he gives a piece to Akamaru.

"Whoof!" He barks.

"I never planned to make friends here," I think to myself and look around at everyone enjoying their food and I attempt a smile and ignore Shino and the bugs on his face.

"Aren't you going to eat your food?" I hear Kiba say. I snap out of it and realize I've been starring at the grill.

"Yeah…" I tell him a bit annoyed.

"Are you feeling ok?" Hinata says in a whisper. I stuff a piece of barbeque in my mouth and nod vigoriousy. Kiba and Shino give me a weird look.


	26. Chapter 26 Off to the Katabami Goldmine!

"Those men Naruto rescued are here to request our services; they came all the way from the Katabami goldmine, one of the most abundant mines in all of the land of rivers. About six months ago a bunch of goons calling themselves the Kuroski family, showed up and ran people straight out of town. Taking over their village, and apparently are killing people left and right!" Lady Tsunade explains.

"Whoop Dee doo time for another mission…" I think to myself. I yawn and Neji nudges me.

"Stop doing that!" I think to myself.

"That is unforgivable!" Shouts Lee and steps forwards I cross my arms.

"Once these men have gained their strength, your objective is to escort them back to the Katabami mine and take out this Kuroski family. A simple mission really, they're probably just a bunch of money grabbing hoodlums," She finishes.

"So then what am I doing here? It sounds like a chimp could do this mission," Naruto boasts. I see Lady Tsunade's expression change and she makes a very angry face.

"Who the heck do you think you are?" She snaps at him.

"Come on, grandma I've got enough on my plate now, with training and looking for Sasuke," Naruto continues and Lady Tsunade grabs him by his collar. I let out a big sigh and Neji looks over at me.

"You think you get to call the shots around here?" She shouts in his face. "You pip squeak! You're a genin you'll take whatever mission I give you! I'll send you back to the academy so fast your head will spin!" I gasp and place my hand over my mouth.

"Neji Hyuuga!" Shouts Lady Tsunade.

"Yes!" He snaps back all serious. I try not to laugh.

"You're team leader!" She shouts and throws Naruto towards him.

"You can get some training in on taming the untamable!" She says.

"I'd rather not…but I'll give it a go," He says back. Her eyebrow shoots up.

"Oh boy…" I think to myself. Naruto shoves his way through and goes to the door.

"I'll be out training if you need me you old bat," Naruto says and walks out.

"Naruto wait up!" Lee calls and goes after him.

Neji bows and walks out after them leaving me behind. She looks over at me fast with a nasty look.

"Um… bye, bye!" I say shyly and run out of there.

"Wait for me guys!" I shout. I hear a window break and apparently Lady Tsunade threw a chair out the window.

"Wow Naruto way to make her angry!" I think to myself. Lee goes back to where Guy-sensei is.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Lee told me something interesting… Apparently the head guy of the Kuroski clan is named Raiga Kurosuki, one of the legendary seven swordsmen of the mist," Neji tells me.

I give him a puzzled look.

"The seven swordsmen?" I think to myself.

"They must have special swords then, sort of like the piece of junk I carry around and don't know what to do with…" I think to myself.

"We'll meet up at the gate in a few… you should go home and get your things prepared," Neji says as he starts to walk away.

"Gotcha!" I say and start to head to my house. I see Shikamaru walking my direction focusing on the papers he's holding.

"Oh the lazy Shika is actually reading," I snap at him. He looks up.

"Eh it's such a drag… Lady Tsunade has me doing all this boring work for her…" He whines.

"Oh suck it up you big baby," I tell him he gives me an annoyed look.

"Urrgh…" He says.

"Well I'm about to head off on a mission… So I guess I'll see you later eh?" I tell him. He nods and I run towards my house.

I shove things into my bag and notice a mushroom fall out of my sweater pocket.

"Oh hmm…" I think to myself and then shove it into my backpack. I look over at my pocket knife and hesitate to put it in.

"Stupid thing…" I mumble and toss it in anyways.

"Alright I'm all set!" I shout and head out the door.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright we keep a close eye on our friends here as we head for Katabami. Then deal with the Kuroski family once we arrive," Neji orders. Lee and I nod. The three guys just give us blank looks.

"There is a shop that is very close to that village, it can be our home base!" Lee says enthusiastically. Neji nods and smiles.

"How do you know about a shop out there?" I ask him he turns towards me.

"Sorry, that is a surprise for the journey," He says and winks at me.

"Uh…Ok…weirdo…" I say quietly.

"We are just waiting on Naruto then," Neji says and we look back into the village.

"This whole mission is based on info from Guy-sensei. Maybe Naruto just didn't buy it," I tell them.

"That is not true Yamouri!" Lee gasps. Neji and I give him a funny look. "He will defiantly be here! Naruto knows Guy-sensei's info is rock solid!"

"Terrific..." Neji mumbles. I roll my eyes and one of the men look up at the sky and gasp. We see Naruto jump down in front of us with his backpack.

"Here I am!" He shouts.

"Alright let's go!" Naruto says and starts to march off.

"That's not your call," Neji says sternly.

"Alright let's do it!" Naruto shouts ignoring his remark.

"Eh which way is it?" He says coming back at us. Neji groans and I laugh at him.

We finally start to head off and two of the guys run in front and along the way they keep pointing and telling us little things about their village.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few hours later ::.::.::.::.::~

We stop for a quick break and the guys stuff their faces like they haven't eaten for days.

"Whoohoo! " Naruto says as he balances on a tower of rocks.

"I will not allow myself to lose!" Lee Shouts and stuffs his rice ball in his mouth and he runs over and starts punching the rock next to him making pieces of rock fly everywhere. Naruto starts jumping on them and the guys start laughing except one.

"How long do you ninja plan to stay here? We need to get moving if we want to save Kenpachi," He says.

"Are you insane? You know how long he's been in that coffin…its hard but…" The other guy says. I look down at the ground and then Neji says we should start heading off.

"I was right it is just up ahead! The curry shop of life!" Lee shouts and runs ahead.

He calls after the old lady cleaning at the front of the little shop. He then raises her up and shouts cheerfully.

"That looks a little…" I start to say.

"Strange," Neji finishes my sentence.

"So this is Lee's shop then?" I ask Neji. He gives me a puzzled look.

"That mountain is the Katabami gold mine," says one of the men point to the left. We look over.

The lady invites us in to eat and we sit at the table. Lee starts telling us a story of one time Lee and Guy-sensei had a competition and this lady's curry saved their lives.

She serves us plates with black glop on it, sided with rice.

"Eww…" I think to myself.

"Now grandma Sansho went through all the trouble of making us this curry so let us dig in! I can not wait!" Lee shouts and takes a spoon full and he raises it up to his mouth slowly and swallows it and his face turns red and he starts to stuff his face. Naruto and the others take a bite and then I slowly raise some to my mouth and it doesn't taste like anything and I stuff another spoon full and then it seems to go quiet in the room. And we all let out a big scream.

My face feels all hot and my tongue feels like it's on fire.

Lee asks about a boy named Karashi. The old lady says he left the shop and went to town because he wanted to get stronger. She says he said he was going to be a part of the Kuroski family. Lee drops his plate and I struggle to reach for my glass of water as my whole body feels like it's on fire.

"I'm not blaming you," Says grandma Sansho.

"Too late now..." I mumble. Lee requests to add in to save the boy from his evil ways in to our mission. He sits there and I give him some water and he takes it from my hand and chugs the glass.

"Whoa..." I think to myself.

"Very well," Neji agrees. We plan to use the shop as a base of operations so we can scout the village. Neji says we need to make a strategy and then make our move. He tells the guys to stay behind.

~::.::.::.::.:: Later that night ::.::.::.::.::~

I look outside my window in the room I was given and can't help, but wonder why my star isn't showing today.

"This is terrible!" I hear one of the men shout as he runs towards the boy's room I come in after him wondering what is going on.

Apparently one of the guys didn't listen and went off into the village.

"Neji if those guys find him then…" I start to say and he gives me a serious look. We plan to head off and find him and leave the other two guys behind.

"Let's go!" Neji shouts and we run out to look for him.

~::.::.::.::.::The next morning::.::.::.::.::~

"That must be the place huh? The Katabami goldmine. I say instead of looking for those guys we just finish off this Kuroski family once and for all," Naruto says.

"Let's not get carried away Naruto," Neji tells him.

"Well then what's the plan genius?" Naruto snaps at him.

"Remember what Guy-sensei said…that's what worries me..." Lee adds.

"So what if the head guy could be one of the seven swordsmen of the mist? Won't that make things more interesting?" Naruto asks.

"I don't know... we can't be sure that Guy-sensei was even right about that…" I add.

"What are you crazy? Guy-sensei is always right!" Lee shouts. I give him a glare.

"First we need to investigate!" Neji orders and Lee gives me a glare back.

"Geez what's your problem?" I snap at him.

"Yamouri! Lee!" Neji snaps.

We spend the day investigating and we see people in black capes ordering the villagers around. They're forcing them to carry things back and forth.

"Ugh now I'm mad" Naruto says as an old man falls and they threaten him.

"Don't worry I'll handle it!" Lee says.

"Lee noo!" I snap at him and he runs down and punches them and leaves only the old man sitting on the ground. He gives us a wave and smile.

"That was so easy…" I think to myself. We jump down next to him.

"Are you crazy! What have you done!" Says the old man. Naruto offers him some water and he throws it.

"Hey!" Naruto shouts.

"Hit me to the ground!" He says

"You feeling ok?" Naruto asks and then he starts slapping himself.

"If they see me with no injures then they'll think I was behind it and they'll give me a funeral" Cries the old man. Suddenly we hear a bell ringing

"What's that gong mean?" Naruto asks.

"It's summing everyone to a funeral..." Says the old man. I gulp.

"A funeral?" Neji asks.

"If anyone displeases the head leader, Raiga then he holds a funeral for them in which he buries them alive.

"What the heck! That's sick!" I shout.

"He then weeps over them as if he's lost someone close to him," He continues.

"Sounds like we are dealing with a real nut job," Naruto mumbles. I nod and rub my arm because I now have goose bumps.

"That funeral isn't for you old man, so who is it?" Neji asks.

"I heard they captured someone this morning who escaped a few days ago... it must be him…" He adds.

"Oh boy…" I whisper.

"Neji do something…" I tell him.

"Alright," He says and uses his byakugan.

"It's alright he's still alive, we'll lead the guards away and then we can get him out," Neji orders.

"Alright time to begin!" Lee says in excitement. We all get ready to head in.

We hear the guy screaming in the coffin and we throw some smoke balls.

"We're under attack!" Yells one of the guys. We all charge at them.

"Yamouri take the two on the right!" Neji shouts.

"Got it!" I shout back and use my invisible jutsu. They look around confused and I punch one and slam him into the wall and he falls unconscious the other guy takes battle stance and I flip him on to the ground and he goes unconscious.

Three more come out and I use my string and tangle them up and then use my lightning technique making them fly back.

There is one left and Lee charges at him but he doesn't hit him and he falls on his butt.

"Who is this?" Naruto asks.

"This is Karashi," Lee says.

"This is the guy?" I ask him.

"Why?" Lee asks him.

"Because their leader is a great man. He took the gold mine back from those evil men and he liberated the whole village!" He shouts.

I roll my eyes at him and Naruto tries to smack him, but lee stops him.

Naruto starts blabbing about him being ungrateful to his mother. Lee tells him he has a gift with curry and starts yelling at him.

Lee punches him and some blood comes out of his mouth.

"Lee!" I gasp.

You must turn away from this path you have taken!" Lee tells him. I get a shiver down my spine as the words stay in my head. We then hear the guy banging the walls in the coffin.

"Oh man we forgot about him!" Naruto shouts.

We open it and he gasps for air.

"Forgive me but I couldn't just leave my friend like that…" He says. I look over at Neji who is starring at a hill.

"Huh?" I say out loud and Naruto looks at me then over at Neji.

"What's wrong Neji!" Naruto shouts as we run over to him and he's shaking.

"We're being watched…" Neji says. "I bet its Raiga."

"Where?" Naruto shouts.

"From the top of that cliff," Neji continues. I look over and don't see anything.

"Good let's go get him!" Naruto says.

"Karashi, you stay here and look after him," Lee orders him and we take off. We arrive at the top.

"Wait there is no one here…" Neji adds.

"Are you sure about that?" Naruto asks and suddenly a heavy fog starts to set in.

"What the hell?" I whisper.


	27. Chapter 27 Ranmaru and Raiga

"What is this?" Naruto says and suddenly it's hard to see a thing.

"An impenetrable mist," Neji says.

Lee takes out a book and says it's the hidden mist jutsu.

"Seven swords men of the mist! Guy-sensei was right!" I say. Naruto makes an annoyed sound.

"Neji try your byakugan!" Lee tells him.

"Don't you think I've been trying?" Neji snaps at him. "I can't see anything."

"Incredible, "Lee states and Neji looks frustrated.

"This jutsu is amazing…" I think to myself.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning energy shoots at the sky and then thunder starts to form.

"Lightning based…" I say quietly.

"Strike them down!" Shouts a voice and a big bolt comes shooting down at us.

We quickly get out of the way and hide behind a tree.

"That was so fast!" I gasp. "This sucks…if my techniques were stronger I could have stopped that bolt in no time."

Neji says he can see about eleven ninjas. I throw some kunai. And they turn into rocks.

"What the heck?" I shout.

"Someone help!" Lee shouts.

"Lee!" I shout. Suddenly some sort of lightning attacks us and I feel the energy enter my body and it burns and it goes dark.

"Yamouri wake up!" I hear a voice say.

I open my eyes and see Neji nudging me. I slowly get up and we see Lee fighting someone in a cape with swords and we hear a voice telling him where to move.

"Lee is still unconscious?" I gasp. Lee kicks something off his back and it lands in front of us in a bag like thing.

"What is that?" I ask Neji. Judging by his reaction it's something very important to him.

We hear Naruto scream.

"Damn I still can't see anything," I shout.

"So what is in this bag?" I ask Neji.

He uses his byakugan and says there is someone in there.

My eyes widen.

"No way…" I say quietly.

"He's using lightning based techniques…Neji I should..."I start to say.

"Leave it to Naruto…" He says.

"Naruto use your shadow clone jutsu!" He tells him. I look down at the bag. Suddenly rocks start to fall from the hill. Thousands of them.

"Naruto!" Shouts Neji.

"STOP!" Yells the thing in the bag. We look down at it and the mist clears up.

"This must be his eyes…" Neji adds.

"So those are his eye balls? They're pretty big," Naruto states.

"Oh….. my…. gosh," I say quietly.

"You idiot it's a person," Neji snaps at him. He unzips the bag and reveals a little person.

"Oh how cute…" I say quietly Neji and Lee nudge me.

"Stop doing that!" I snap at them.

He sounds like a little boy and has purple hair and red eyes. He then explains that he's always been with Raiga. Ever since he found him.

"I became his eyes and ears and he became my hands and feet," He says. "We were never a part; we were trying to find our meanings in our lives. That's why if Raiga is gone then I have no purpose in this world," Explains Ranmaru. I look away sadly.

"Don't talk like that," Naruto says. Naruto looks like he is about to cry. Neji starts to walk towards the edge of the cliff and looks over the village

"What are we suppose to do about him," Naruto says. We tie him up and put him in a shelter. He looks down at the ground and then the others walk out and he looks up and stares at me.

"We have to assume he possess other jutsu just to be safe," Neji says. I stay behind and stare at the door.

"Yamouri?" Neji calls and I walk after him.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

We arrive and see all the villagers are out.

"They look safe," I mention.

"I guess the Kuroski family ran away with their tails between their legs," Naruto says and Neji smirks.

We start to head towards the villagers and then one of the villagers tries to say something and Karashi covers his mouth.

"Wait…." I say quietly and he raises his hands and boulders come flying at us. Looking like it crushed us.

The other people land on the rocks to search and see where we are.

"Hey what are you looking for?" Naruto asks them.

They looked surprised that we are there.

"Those were just our shadow clones and transformation jutsu," Naruto says.

"Black tornado jutsu!" Shouts one of them and they all start to climb on top of each other.

"What the?" I shout. And they start spinning, causing black tornados.

We watch from on top and watch our clones get squished.

"Now it's my turn!" I shout and head out towards them.

"Thunder up jutsu!" I shout and do my hand signs and make balls and throw it at them. I hit some and they fall back unconscious. More come running at me from different directions.

Lee takes over and then before we know it the battle is over.

Naruto gets frustrated because he didn't get to do anything.

The villagers are yelling at Karashi who was the one behind the ambush.

Lee sticks up for him.

"Man what a drag…" I whine and Neji nudges me.

"Huh?" I give him a puzzled look.

"So our mission is pretty much complete," Naruto says while clapping.

"No not just yet…" Neji adds and we start to head to the shelter where we left the little boy tied.

"You alright?" Neji asks.

"I can't go on living all alone like I am," He says.

"Hey come on don't say that!" Naruto says.

I slightly gasp and try not to give him a pity look. I feel so bad for this kid. He knows how it's like to be alone. He explains that he has always been frail and he has no memories of his parents. He only survived because the villagers took pity on him.

"I had a special power no one else did," He says.

"As time went on everyone feared me," He continues. "From then on I had no more visitors bringing me food."

"His past is so tragic, I had no idea…" Lee whispers to Neji and he agrees. I stare at him knowing that he could say the same about me. That is exactly why I try so hard to hide it because I hate pity.

"Raiga was using you to do those evil things!" Naruto shouts in his face.

"I suppose," He says with a little giggle.

Naruto offers him some curry of life. And Lee agrees with excitement they start shouting and I cover my ears.

I let out a huge sigh.

"Won't that spicy curry hurt his body…?" I add.

"Yes….Naruto you shouldn't have any either…" Neji says and I start laughing. They all turn to me confused.

I put on a straight face.

"Hahahaha! So serious Neji," I think to myself.

Naruto puts the boy on his back and he says he only has one favor to ask.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

We walk to the top of the cliff again and look down at where Raiga's body is suppose to be buried under rocks. Neji uses his byakugan and says there is no life in Raiga.

"Let's go were done here," Neji says and we start walking back to the curry shop with the little boy and Karashi.

"Grandma Sansho I'm back!" Naruto shouts.

We ask for some curry but mild this time. The little boy is sleeping on Naruto's back.

Later that day she serves us the food and the little boy hasn't even touched his plate.

He tells Naruto he's not ready to eat right now. The boy stares at me and I give him a funny look.

"Oh be right back!"Naruto says and excuses himself and leaves only me and the boy.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat?" I ask sweetly.

"Oh I'm not really that hungry…' He says. He just stares at me.

"What is it? I ask a little annoyed.

"It's just that… I could tell from the first time I saw you…you were lonely as well…" He says. My eyes widen and I don't even know what to say. Great everyone can read me.

"You have all those friends…so why do you feel so alone?" He asks. I look down at the table.

"It's complicated…" I add and excuse myself from the table. I turn around real quick. "I'm not lonely… really." He gives me a blank look and then looks down at his plate and Naruto comes back

~::.::.::.::.:: The next day::.::.::.::.::~

"Thanks so much for your help…" Says one of the guys we helped, never did catch his name.

"Yeah you solved everything," The other adds.

"Neji where is Lee?" I ask him and he laughs and says his mission isn't done yet. The clouds start to get darker and Naruto and Lee start cutting down trees to protect the shop.

"Hey Yamouri, I'm worried about Ranmaru and Karashi, we are fine here…. Why don't you go and check up on them," Neji says and I nod and head to the shop.

"You guys?" I say and notice they are gone. I enter and start to search around, but no sign of them.

"Oh no!" I gasp and start to head back to the cliff having a feeling they might have went there.

I arrive back at the cliff and look down at Raiga's burial spot and see Karashi there with Ranmaru and suddenly a light bolt charges down from the sky and revives Raiga.

"Aaah!" I gasp and fall. I slowly rise back up and see Raiga holding Ranmaru.

"Raiga?" I think to myself. "How can that be…? I won't let you get away!"

I see him raise his sword and I start to throw kunais at him.

He uses his sword and hits them scattering them.

I use my thunder ball jutsu and he looks surprised and then with his sword hits them back at me and I use my shield to deflect it.

"Well, well, well, a lightning user as well," He says and then he aims his sword at me and I jump out of the way as a bolt of lightning destroys the pile of rocks I was just in front of.

"You're not very interesting…" He says and then with my string I mange to trick him into getting tangled in it and a bolt of lightning shoots from the sky and he breaks free.

"What the hell!" I shout and he aims at me again and I jump out of the way and fall back trying to escape in time. He starts to walk towards me as I sit myself up slowly feeling the effects of the fall and he raises his swords and I can hear the electric chakra flowing threw it. I take out my sword and reflect it as the two swords collide and we both fly back and I burn my hand again.

"That sword…why do you have it?" He asks in an angry tone.

"What do you know about it!' I ask surprised.

"I've had enough of your little games…by the looks of it you don't even know how to use it!" He shouts and raises his sword again and I use my other lightning technique and he flies back into the wall. I slowly stand up.

"Did I do it?" I think to myself. And a bolt comes out of nowhere and I fall back falling unconscious.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

I wake up and hear the clouds making thunder sounds. I quickly get up and realize Karashi and Raiga are gone. I run to where Ranmaru's body lies.

"Ranmaru!" I shout and then he starts to stutter something.

"Raaaaigga…" He says.

"You're alive!" I shout and pick him up. "Hold on just a little longer ok?" I say and put him on my back and start to head to this shelter.

We arrive there and I place him on the bed. I cover him up with the blankets as he feels so cold. He doesn't look so good.

"Is he still gone?" Ranmaru mumbles.

"Raiga is awake now…" I whisper. "Let's worry about you."

"It's ok I'm going to die soon anyways," He says. I get a sick feeling and a rush of anger.

"I won't let that happen! Don't say stuff like that!" I shout. He starts coughing and turns to face the wall.

"You know you don't have to be like him…. There are people that will accept you for who you really are…" I add.

There's a moment of silence and he starts to cough again. I slowly lift him out of bed. I put him on my back and cover him with a blanket and we walk in the rain towards the curry shop. I look and see Karashi trying to make grandma Sansho leave. I explain to his mom all that happened and she yells at him

"You guys go on ahead…I will save this boy." I state.

She then suggests the curry of life and she immediately starts to prepare some as I place some wet rags on his very warm head. She finishes and serves some on a plate I offer some to him but he doesn't want to take any.

"Just a bite…." I insist.

"You messed up on the blend of spices…" Karashi said and starts to add things in. He finishes and it looks even blacker than the other stuff.

"Why are you helping me?" He mumbles.

"People help each other…" I add. Karashi insists and I feed him a spoonful and his face turns bright red and he starts to stuff the whole thing down.

"Is it good?" I ask trying not to laugh at his sudden burst of energy.

"How can this boy and Lee and enjoy that stuff…." I think to myself and make a grossed out face. 

"Let's go…" I tell him and we start to head back to the cliff where Raiga is and where Neji and them went too.

I see lightning striking and can hear Lee scream.

"We need to hurry," I say angrily

I see some kind of dragon shaped thing at the top of the cliff.

"What is that!" I gasp and start to run even faster with Ranmaru on my back.

"You guys I'm gonna go on ahead," I tell Karashi and his mother and I start to speed up even more.

We run by and I see a hint of green in the corner of my eye.

"Huh?" I say and walk backwards and see Lee lying there.

"Hey Lee!" I shout and he falls back." Snap out of it!" I yell as I start to shake him

Suddenly Karashi and the granny show up and Karashi is exhausted.

"Grandma Sansho I need the curry of life!" I shout and she agrees to give it to me and then I go on ahead with a plate of curry of life for Naruto and Neji and tell Ranmaru to keep a look out for them. I find Naruto lying against a rock and I shove a big spoon full of curry into his mouth.

"Stupid wake up Naruto!" I shout and his face turns red and he wakes up.

"What the heck are you doing!" Shouts Naruto.

"We need to get going! Raiga is still alive!" I tell him and he stands up and we go looking for Neji.

We hide behind a rock and we see Ranmaru walking to Raiga.

"Ranmaru revived Raiga and when he woke up thought Ranmaru was dead," I whisper to Naruto.

"So that's why he kept ranting on about Ranmaru looking down on him," Naruto adds.

Ranmaru sits on Raiga's shoulder. A fog like things surrounds them.

We see them walking away.

"They are heading out for the cliff right in front of him! I think he plans to lead him and Raiga to their deaths!" I shout and Naruto starts to run towards them and then we hear Lee's voice and see him wobbling towards them.

I run towards Naruto.

"What is he doing?" I shout. He throws a bolt at him and Lee easily deflects it.

"Is he drunk again?" I shout. "That alcoholic!" And Naruto gives me a funny look. I get a flashback the last time he was and Gaara had saved us.

He keeps shooting at Lee and he kicks Raiga under the chin sending him flying and Ranmaru falling down the cliff, but Naruto saves him.

He puts his two swords together. Lee keeps wobbling and runs towards him and punches his stomach making them both fall back.

Naruto comes out again and Ranmaru steps in front of Lee.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

I go to see how Karashi is doing and if he found Neji. I see him trying to shake him awake.

"Neji!" I shout and stand by Karashi. "Did you give it to him?" I ask.

"Yes and he went like this…" Karashi says.

"What are you doing Neji!" I shout.

I take the curry and give him another two spoon fulls.

"We don't have time to sleep Neji we need your help," I say and Karashi starts freaking out. Neji's eyes widen and his face turns red and then he faints again.

"Great now you've done it…" Karashi Sighs.

~::.::.::.::.:: The next morning ::.::.::.::.::~

We gather our things as another mission complete. Raiga was defeated apparently and Ranmaru doesn't seem that bothered by it. I'm sure he's trying to hide it like I do. We see Karashi and Ranmaru being lectured by grandma Sansho.

"Hey grandma Sansho thanks for your help… I think you guys are going to take good care of Ranmaru," Naruto says. She smiles and starts to say how she's going to show him how to make all types of curry.

"Aah I see… well it is time for us to get going…" Lee tells her.

"Thank you for your help," Neji adds.

"Ranmaru… Karashi… best of luck to you," I say with a smile. She insists for us to stay and eat. And shows us some new curry that is bright red.

"Just looking at it makes my eyes burn," Naruto adds.

"Ah! Such culinary delight!" Lee shouts.

"You're crazy!" We all shout at him.

"Uh lady Tsunade will kill us if we don't get back soon.

"Yeah…" we say and start to run off and Naruto closes the door in front of me.

"Hey wait for me!" I shout and run after them.


	28. Chapter 28 Yamouri's Reflection

"Hmm…soft pillow…" I mumble as I turn to my side in my warm bed. I hear a tapping sound coming from my window and make a moaning sound. I really don't want to be disturbed right now. The tapping continues and I throw a pillow at the window. After a few minutes it continues and I charge out of bed and pull back the curtains to find Hikaru on the other side of the window waving.

"Aaaah!" I scream and close the curtains again.

"It's just a nightmare," I gasp and get back to bed. I lay back to bed and then my alarm goes off and I throw it at the wall.

"It's time already?" I moan and start to get dressed and grab a muffin on the way out and rush to the training grounds.

I run by Shikamaru carrying a pile of books and he gives me an annoyed as I bump him and his stack falls. My muffin falls to the ground and I accidently step on it without realizing it.

"Sorry Shika!" I yell.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"You're late," Neji states with his arms crossed as I get their panting.

"I know…" I sigh.

"Where's Lee?" He asks and I look around curiously.

"Oh yeah where is that weirdo?" I ask and he rolls his eyes.

"Probably with Guy-sensei," I think to myself.

"SORRY WE"RE LATE GUYS!" I hear Lee shout and see him coming all smiley and Guy-sensei with his shiny smile.

"Finally," Neji says in an annoyed tone.

"Alright guys let's get started shall we!" Guy-sensei says with enthusiasm.

"Are you going to teach us a new jutsu?" I ask crossing my fingers and he says we need to work on our original skills. I make a face and then he tests Lee first into a hand to hand battle. I sit by a tree and Neji sits by me.

"This is a waste of time, I need to learn new material," I think to myself.

"I will never get the strength I need from this village," Sasuke's words go through my head and I zone out. Now realizing what he meant.

"No wonder he left…" I whisper and Neji looks over curious to why I talked to myself.

"Hmm?" He says and I just look at Lee and Guy-sensei's dual.

After Lee's turn it is mine and then Neji's. A few hours later and we're pretty exhausted

"Come on guys! Where is your youth?" Guy-sensei shouts and I cover my ears from the headache.

"There's always room for improvement," He continues in his energetic voice and I feel myself get dizzy.

"Don't think it's always going to be easy now…" He adds and I feel myself lose balance and then I feel someone's arms wrap around me as it goes dark.

"Yamouri…Can you hear me," I hear a voice echo and I open my eyes to find myself in a dark room with only a crack of light coming from a hole in the wall.

"Yamouri…come find me…" It repeats again and I slowly stand myself up and touch the walls to find any kind of exit.

"Yamouri…" It whispers and I stumble towards the darkness and feel myself fall like if the floor has disappeared underneath my feet and I try and scream but before I know it I'm lying on the ground looking at a river. I hear the sound of the water and I see some rocks flying out in front of me. I look over and see Kento trying to skip rocks.

"Kento…?" I mumble.

"Yami you're awake!" He says with a smile.

"What the hell is this?" I say and look into the water and see my reflection as the little girl about 7 years ago. I gasp really loud and look over and see Kento picking up another rock.

"Are you going to play today?" He asks. I stumble away from the water and just stare at him.

"What's wrong?" He asks confused.

"Am I dreaming again?" I say loudly and he gives me a funny look.

"Oh Kyho was looking for you earlier…" He says while rolling his eyes.

"Kyho…?" I ask surprised and hear rustling in the bushes. We both look over and see a little puppy stumble out.

"What's this?" Kento says and walks over to it. It's a little brown one with a bloody leg.

"Aw…It's hurt…" I say. Realizing that this actually did happen long ago.

"Could this be a flashback?" I think to myself and see Kento pick up the injured puppy as it moans.

I walk over to him and he hands me it and says he's going to run home to see if his uncle has a first aid kit.

"Shouldn't we take it to the village and have a vet look at it?" I ask and he nods and we start to head towards the village. The puppy snuggles his head to my chest and I start to scratch behind his ear.

"Aw he likes you Yami," Kento says with a smile and I look over to him and his big blue eyes seem so peaceful. A look in his eyes that I haven't seen in such a long time.

"Let's call him Poncho!" Kento says excitedly. I shake my head.

"I'm sure this puppy already has an owner," I say sadly.

"Aw... Well it doesn't look like they took good care of it," He adds and we arrive at the vet and Kento knocks on the door and a lady lets us enter and she immediately calls for someone and they take the puppy to the back room and we wait in the waiting room. After a few minutes she tells us he is going to be ok and we tell her where we found him and she says she will handle the rest and she will call us if the owner doesn't come to claim him. Kento and I walk back to the river and I'm scared to look at my reflection again.

"Yamouri don't you miss that puppy already?" Kento asks and I look down at the ground and then bite my tongue and walk to the river. I see my reflection as me and see Kento standing behind me.

"Kento..." I gasp. "Where's Kyho!" I say angrily.

"Don't worry he is out of the way now," He says in his deep voice. And I push him back but he doesn't budge and I fall into the river. I try and get out, but it's like something is holding me down at the bottom. I struggle and then I hear the voices again.

"Yamouri…" I hear someone call and someone shaking me. Something cold pours all over my face and I gasp and sit up and see Lee sitting in front holding a bucket and Guy-sensei standing behind him. Neji helps me stay up and I look at them surprised.

"What happened?" I gasp and Guy-sensei gives me a concerned look.

"You passed out," Neji says blankly.

"Oh…" I add trying to calm myself.

"Yamouri did…" Lee starts to say and Guy-sensei says him and Lee are going to get something real quick, and he takes Lee by the shoulder.

"Let's go Lee…" He says.

Neji stands up and crosses his arms.

"When was the last time you ate…?" He asks and I can't seem to remember. Maybe that curry mission which was like a week ago.

"I ate a muffin…" I start to say and then realize I dropped it.

"This morning," I lie and he raises his eye brow. Suddenly my stomach makes a loud growl.

"Really that doesn't sound like it," Neji says and I look down in shame.

"I know…" I add.

"How much sleep do you get? You always look tired," Neji says and for a moment he reminds me of my brother and I smile.

"I'm not sure…" I mumble.

"As a shinobi you need to be in a good physical condition," He states. I let out a big sigh.

"I can't sleep though… "I think to myself.

~::.::.::.::.:: The next morning ::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright team guy! Lady Tsunade has assigned us a special mission!" Guy-sensei shouts. I groan and then he explains that this one is inside the village and we are just going to help a farmer pull out all the weeds in his acres.

"Oh how fun…" I say sarcastically.

"I know what a challenge!" Lee shouts in excitement.

"Wow…" I mumble. We arrive there and meet the kind old man and then he shows us his big field.

"Holy…" I start to say and Neji nudges me. I nudge him back annoyed and he glares at me. The man then gives us each a basket and rake.

"Oy…" I sigh.

"Lee let's see how fast you can eliminate these weeds!" Guy-sensei shouts.

"I accept your challenge!" Lee shouts and runs to the field.

I start with a small area and see bushes surrounded by weeds.

"This shouldn't be hard… It's just going to take all day," I tell myself.

I start to rip some out some, and the farmer walks by to make sure I'm doing it right. I look over and see Lee already has about 10 baskets full of them and I've barely filled one.

"Damn it Lee!" I gasp and start to pick a little faster and look over and he has about fifteen now.

"It's impossible to compete with that guy…" I add and take a break and see Neji has only about five and I have two now.

I start to pick again and start on a new row. Lee has about thirty and Guy-sensei is shouting stuff about youth. I pull out another bundle and see a bluish purple thing and I gasp and pull it out.

"What is a forget me not flower doing in the middle of farm like this?" I say out loud and examine it.

"This flower is a symbol of my past, "I mumble and begin to pull out faster to see if I find another one. I ask Lee and Neji if they found anything besides the weeds like a flower and they say no.

"How strange…" I add and start to pull faster before I know it I've completed about 7 rows. And have about fifteen baskets full.

"I don't get it!" I say and continue and see Lee is just about done with his part and so is Neji.

"Does this mean something?" I say and when I finally finish my last row no one found anything like it.

I keep it to myself and the farmer pays us for our help and Guy-sensei says we should celebrate, but I tell them I'm going to sleep and Neji says that's a good idea. I roll my eyes at his attitude.

I start to walk home starring at the flower. I remember when Hikaru gave me some.

"Hey I thought you didn't like those…" I hear Shikamaru's voice and see him with his hands in his pockets and Choji eating behind him.

"Hey Yum num Ami…" He says and I smile.

"Hey Choji long time no see," I look back down at it and put it behind my back.

"So what are you guys up too?" I ask.

"Well we got done early with our work so we just decided to hang out, you know?" Shikamaru says.

"Oh I see," I add and realize Shikamaru has been starring at me the whole time.

"I'll see you guys later," I say and Shikamaru stops me.

"You haven't drawn for awhile…" He says.

"Oh yeah…. I just haven't had much inspiration lately you know?" I mumble. My stomach growls again.

"Oh I know that sound! It's time for barbeque!" Choji shouts and grabs my wrist and pulls me to the direction of his favorite restaurant. Shikamaru runs after us.

Choji orders us a load of food and I'm secretly excited.

"Man Ino was such a pain today…"Choji complains and the two of them start to talk about their training and I zone out looking out the window. The food finally arrives and Choji starts to grill them. I start to yawn and then after a few minutes some pieces are finishes and Choji is sharing this time and let's us take our pieces first. It starts to get dark out and I've eaten a load of food that another bite might make it all come out again.

"You sure eat a lot," Choji says and takes another bite.

"Look who's talking…" I mumble. They begin talking again and I feel my eyes getting droopy and I yawn again.

My head falls on Shikamaru's shoulder and he makes a funny sound.

"Yami…you seem tired you probably should get home now," Choji says and his talking gets quieter.

I wake up in front of my door and see Choji walking away and notice Shikamaru has my arm around his shoulder.

"What…?" I mumble. "What happened to the barbeque?"

He smirks and asks if it's ok to go in my house and I nod and he opens the door and I walk to the couch and rub my eyes.

"Guess that food made you sleepy," he says and starts to look around. Then it hit me that he is not suppose to know anything about my past and it's too late because he notices some pictures broken on the ground.

"Yamouri…who…" He starts to say and I yawn big and tell him he should get home now and shove him out the door and lock the door behind and then I wait a few minutes till his footsteps become faint and I throw a vase to the wall.

"Aaaah!" I yell. I grab a pillow and head to my bed.


	29. Chapter 29 Yamouri's Village

"The nightmares just won't stop," I whisper as I awake early again. I have a new goal today. There has to be someone in this village that can help me understand this scroll. I take it out from under my pillow and look at it again. This just lists jutsu's but not how to use them.

I arrive at the training area and meet up with Neji.

"Well your on time for once," he smirks.

"Yeah, yeah," I sigh and pause. "Neji….Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" He says now serious.

"Do you know anyone in this village that is good at lightning based techniques…?" I ask and he raises his eyebrows.

"What for?" He says and I take out the scroll and show it to him. The first time I've shown anyone except Guy-sensei.

"You'd have to ask Lady Tsunade about it," He says and my stomach drops.

"I can't do that…" I think to myself.

"Oh…well I'm going to skip training for today," I add and begin to walk away.

"What about Guy-sensei?" He says.

"Just tell him I'm busy," I mumble and I walk away.

There has to be someone in this village. I hesitate for a moment standing outside the hokage's building.

"If I go in there she will just tell me to focus on my old stuff…" I think to myself.

"Hm…" I mumble.

"Hey Yamouri what are you doing?" I hear a voice call and I look and see Kakashi Hatake standing there scratching his head.

"Oh my sensei's rival…" I say quietly. Then I remember Sasuke using some sort of lightning technique during his battle against Gaara in the Chuunin exams and that this guy here taught him.

"Kakashi! Can I ask you a question," I say in excitement now.

"Uh yeah what is it?" He says.

"You know I basically use lightning right?" I ask him and he raises his eyebrow.

"Uh yeah…" He adds.

"Don't you?" I ask and he stays quiet for a moment.

"Yeah I do. Do you want me to teach you or something?" He asks. I take out the scroll and give it to him. He raises his eyebrows.

"Where did you get this?" He says serious. Then notices my clan's name on it and he doesn't say anything.

"So I see…Well I don't know any on this list…"He says and I can tell he is lieing.

"Damn…" I say under my breath.

"But you're a copy cat ninja right…?" I start to say and he excuses himself and walks up to Lady Tsunade's office.

"What an idiot!" I gasp and walk off. I have a last resort, but… I don't know if I could do it without being caught.

"Alright I'll head to the cloud village tonight," I mumble and start to walk home.

~::.::.::.::.:: Later that Day ::.::.::.::.::~

I decide to clean up the mess I've neglected for so long. I stare at the picture Kento, Kyho and I took together.

"I won't give up. Just like you Naruto," I whisper.

"I can't go on like this without knowing why," I mumble.

"It's time I get up and start looking for the answers myself," I add and place the picture in my backpack. "If I don't then the nightmares will never end."

I put some snacks into my bag as well and leave the apartment like no one is currently living in it. I look down at the ground and then out the window and notice the night has fallen. This is the perfect time to go.

I close the door and take the key and start to run. I don't look back and jump from roof top to roof top. I jump over the gate and begin to run through the forest. My heart is pounding and I start to run faster.

I get the feeling like I'm being followed and stop and hide and use my invisible jutsu to be able to look around without being seen.

"Could it be that person Lady Tsunade told me about?" I think to myself.

"Are they really always watching me!" I say out loud. I hear some leaves rustling.

"Who's there!" I shout and take out a kunai as the jutsu wears off. I throw a kunai at the spot the leaves just moved and nothing.

"I don't have time for this!" I shout and begin to scan the area. I start to take off and then flying kunais come at me.

"What's this?" I shout and use my shield to deflect it.

"Show yourself!" I yell and then I use my invisible jutsu again. I head off again and nothing else happens.

"How strange…" I mumble and continue to head to the cloud village.

~::.::.::.::.:: The next morning ::.::.::.::.::~

"All I need to do is travel up this mountain and I'm home again…" I say nervously as I stare at the gate.

"This is it," I whisper and begin to walk up the rock path.

"I haven't been here in years and am curious if they rebuilt this whole area. If so…than what I'm here for will become more complicated to accomplish. I slowly open the wooden gate and it squeaks as it opens. The village I have stuck in my head is one with lots of people chatting and little kids running around playfully.

When it opens my heart drops and I fall to my knees.

It's nothing, but a field of wood and rocks and dust.

"I can't believe they didn't have the time to rebuild this area," I say sadly. And only a few ruined builds are still standing.

"I remember the bread shop was right there," I tell myself as I remember the old man that use to give me and Kyho some free loaves.

I start to walk slowly to where my house once stood and stop a few feet away. I notice tombstones a little behind it and I walk slowly towards it feeling out of breath.

I start to sob realizing who it is and I just lay there for what seems for hours.

"Mom, Dad, Kyho," I mumble. I place by back pack by them and then run to the field Kento and I use to play in and see a bundle of forget me not flowers. I grab handfuls and walk back to my fallen village. I place them on top and then smile as I wipe my eyes.

"If I had known those ninja had given you a burial I would have came back sooner," I sob. I hear the birds chirping in nearby trees. I remember I always woke up to their singing.

"Well…You guys, I should tell you how it's going," I start to say as tears come down my face.

"I live in the leaf village now, and my team has some very obnoxious people, but I wouldn't trade them for anybody. I've made some really good friends…well sort of," I giggle a little.

"I live all alone, but it's ok because I don't spend time home anyways. Oh you'd be proud mom I eat vegetables more than I did when I was little…And father I'm doing all I can to restore our name and honor. Kyho…I think I found someone who treats me just like their little sister…His name is Neji. But don't worry… No one can ever replace you." I place my hand on their tombstones.

"I feel so alone, but when I'm here I feel like you guys are still near," I mumble. I look over at the remains of my house and carefully start to remove some pieces of wood.

"Maybe…just maybe there was something saved in here," I start to dig with my bare hands and feel around for anything. Something that didn't burn.

"Please let there be something," I sob and start to throw pieces of wood everywhere.

"Aaah!" I yell in frustration and punch a big log and it splits. Underneath it I see something white.

I start to remove the pieces of log and lift up a white box. I wipe the dust off and it's latched closed.

"I don't have the key," I say sadly. I take out a kunai knife and start to pick at it.

It finally opens and I take a big breath before I open it. Inside are some pictures and a locket and some other things.

"Was this my mother's?" I gasp and then open the locket and see my picture and Kyho's.

"Mom…" I whisper and hug the locket to my chest. I continue to search threw and find a note. I also find a picture of my parents holding hands. A big smile comes on my face.

"I never asked how you and dad met…" I say sadly. "Or how you fell in love."

I find a picture of Baby Kyho and a baby with black hair and blue eyes.

"Whose this?" I shout and drop the picture realizing it. I then take one of the pictures of my parents and place it in the locket instead of my picture. I lay my picture down on top of their graves and smile and put the locket around my neck.

I put the box by my backpack and begin to search for more things.

"There has to be something about a relative or something!" I shout and then start to search through the remains of my neighbor's house.

"Aaaah!" I yell getting even more frustrated. "Why didn't I die that day? Why couldn't you have just let me die…?" I sob.

"I can't handle this burden anymore. Kento is too strong for me. It be impossible for me to beat him. I'd give up my life to destroy him, but I need answers." I walk back over to my backpack and pull out a picture of Kento.

"What happened that day?" I look at the sky and a little bird flies by.

I think hard to the headband Kento was wearing, but can't remember. He was wearing a plain black cape. No design on it. How will I ever find you…? I jerk my head to a big bang and see it's just a piece of rock that fell.

I go into one the abandoned buildings and look around. I decide to head to Kento's uncle's shelter and find that, that has also been burned down.

"Did you kill your own uncle?" I gasp and look down at my hands. How could anyone kill their own family? How could someone just turn on everyone like that for no reason?

"Why didn't the neighboring villages try and stop the fire right when it started?" I yell and then start to walk down to the lake that was our hangout. I look at the slow clouds above.

"The water still feels warm," I say with a smile as I stare at my reflection in the water.

"Because from your eyes I can see the same pain and anger as myself, and as Sasuke," Gaara's words sweep through my head and I continue starring at my reflection.

"What sadness do you have Gaara…" I mumble. "I want to read someone like you read me."

I wash my face and stare at myself.

"I don't recognize you anymore," I think to myself. "This path was my choice and it will have to be a lonely one. I need to distant myself from everyone and focus on training and then when the time comes I will the leaf village. I head back to the tombstones and notice white flowers on top.

"What the?" I gasp. "I didn't put those there…" I look around for any sign of someone, but can't sense a presence.

"Someone else was here," I mumble and place my backpack on my back.

"Goodbye Mother, Father, and Kyho. I will be back soon, I promise," I then bow and start to head towards the gate. Looking around one last time and then my chest starts to hurt and I place my hand over my heart.

"What's this?" I think to myself and can hear my heart thumping. I knew none of my parent's friends. Everyone in the Kesaki clan died that day along with the other two clans.

"My last resort is Lady Tsunade," I say sadly while looking down at the ground. The sun is going down and the sky is orange and pink.

"Should I stay the night with my family?" I think to myself. I look back at the gate and try and hold back more tears.

"No I'm sure someone might be wondering where I went…after all I didn't ask permission to leave," I add. And slowly walk down the path. An image of my brother standing at the end waiting for me appears and I just bite my lip and walk by as he disappears.

"Good bye village," I state and start to run off towards the woods.

~::.::.::.::.:: The next morning ::.::.::.::.::~

I return to the leaf village on no sleep. The two guys at the desk by the gate look at me in surprise when I walk through. I wave at them and continue walking.

My mission wasn't very successful, but at least I got some kind of closure. I look down at the ground sadly.

"Yamouri?" I hear Shikamaru call and I just continue walking and then he stands in front of me.

"Neji was looking for you…" He says and I just nod and he stares at me.

"Are you okay?" He says and I say yes and put on a serious face, but he stops me.

"Nah I can tell something's on your mind. Aren't women always emotional?" He says and I punch his stomach.

"Uggh," He says with a smile. "Glad to see you be yourself again."

I give him a hug. And he is surprised at first, but then he hugs back.

"Yami…?" He whispers.

"You're just like my brother…" I want to say, but stay quiet instead. And I let go.

"Hey Yami there you are! We've been looking all over for ya," Naruto says and I see him with Choji.

"Huh?" I ask and see them all smiling. I make a confused face and I look down at the ground. Shikamaru complains that he had no one to hang out with.

"Uh…what is it something I said?" Naruto says nervously.

"Aw I'm sorry Yami..." He says.

"About what…?" I say really confused now. Did this pip squeak tell everyone?

"Neji said your fish died and that's why you've been sad lately…" Naruto says. I bet he's already forgotten all about what happened or he really is just stupid.

"Uh…Naruto I never had fish…" I mumble and Shikamaru slaps his forehead.

"Oh I know that look! You're hungry," Choji says with excitement.

"Or maybe that's just gas…" Naruto says and I slap the back of his head.

"Why don't we go get some barbeque!" Shikamaru adds and I look towards the hokage building.

"I have some business to take care of first," I state and start to walk off towards the Hokage's.


	30. Chapter 30 The Future Teller

I stand outside the office and almost knock on the door but then I stop myself and run back out of there.

"What was I thinking?" I mutter. I stare back at it and then look down at a mushroom I have in my pocket and slowly take it out.

"Oh Yami what are you doing here?" I hear a voice say. I shoot my head back and see Shizune coming my way. I stuff the mushroom back in my pocket.

"Oh um…I thought I saw a puppy run by here, but guess not…" I say nervously. She raises her eyebrow and I stare at the pig in her arms.

"I never noticed how weird she is carrying the pig everywhere," I think to myself. I smile at her.

"Ah I see, Oh I'm so tired, Lady Tsunade won't let me have any breaks…" She sighs and puts her pig down and she comes up to me and I pet her.

"Oinnnk!" She squeaks.

"Oh Yami!" I hear Ino scream and my head rises.

"Yamouri I need to talk to you," She says coming up to us and takes my wrist and drags me around the corner. I look back at the piggy and Shizune with a puzzled look.

I push her hand away.

"What do you want Ino?" I sigh. I cross my arms and she has one of those annoying faces on.

"What did you do to Shikamaru?" She shouts and puts her hands on her hips.

"Whaaat on earth are you talking about?" I ask and tilt my head.

"I don't know he's so gloomy now and I think it's your fault!" She shouts.

"Reeeeaaally now? I don't have time to hear your nonsense Ino," I snap at her and roll my eyes and start to walk away.

"This is why no one likes you," She mumbles.

"Like I care," I add and she gives me a surprised look like I wasn't suppose to hear that. My first intent of coming to this village was to become a shinobi and become strong and when the time came go after the person who ruined everything. People liking me is the last thing on my mind, though it helps with the cover up.

I turn around the corner and walk down some aisles of laundry hanging on strings and run into a pole.

"OW! SON OF…!" I yell and slap it and then message my hands. I look down and stare at my scars. I walk back into town to look for something to do, but this place is so boring. And mostly everyone is out on missions. It's like this is Lady Tsunade's mission season.

"Oh there you are Yamouri…" I hear Lee say and turn around and see him trying to juggle an apple.

"Lee…aren't you supposed to be training with Guy-sensei today?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"He had to do something for Lady Tsunade so maybe later," He adds.

"Oh…I have no idea what to do today," I sigh.

"Aw why not go to the fair right outside of the village?" He says with enthusiasm.

"What fair?" I gasp and he puts his hand on my shoulder and we start walking towards the gate.

"Oh I thought you knew about it Yamouri! It's here every year and there are games and lots of food!" He cheers. "Mostly the villagers attend and the ninja rarely do. But today is our day off!"

"Oh I see, But there's food right?" I say with a smile and he nudges me.

"Yes…rice balls and fudge," He says and my mouth starts to water at the idea of fudge. I imagine myself swimming in a big pot of fudge. I let out a big dreamy sigh.

"Sounds like fun," I add and then Lee shouts at Shikamaru who is up ahead and waves.

"Oy…." I sigh and Lee invites him and Choji and Ino to come along. I roll my eyes at Ino.

We start to head out and Lee and Choji are talking and I stay quiet trying to tune them out.

"Oh should I try and win Sakura something?" Lee whispers to me and his face turns slightly red.

"Aww Yeah I'm sure she would like that Lee," I say with a smile and a wink. We start to hear carnival music and Ino starts to make girly screams about there being places with clothes and other girl crap.

"I can smell all that food!" Shouts Choji and starts to run ahead. Ino runs ahead too and Lee sees a game which is a throwing contest, and starts to run there rambling on about challenging himself. Leaving me behind with Shikamaru, I try to find somewhere for me to go but can't find anything interesting.

"Aren't you going to challenge Lee?" Shikamaru says with a grin.

"Nah, I'd hurt myself trying…" I mumble. He lets out a smirk and then I see an old lady sitting behind a purple curtain and the sign on the outside says future teller.

I gasp and tell Shikamaru I'll be right back and start to head towards her. Shikamaru looks around and then he heads off somewhere.

"This should buy me some time…" I whisper to myself and pull back the curtain.

"Hello there girl," She says confidently. "Take a seat."

I nod and sit in front of her and notice she is wearing robes made of shiny silk and about two scarves and a bunch of beads and a head piece.

"What is your name girl," She says while eyeing me.

"Oh…Uh Yamouri Kesaki," I say and she nods. I look around and see all sorts of weird things like a skull and more beads and empty picture frames and a bunch of other junk.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I whisper to myself.

"Do you want me to read your future?" She says with a grin. "Or are you just trying to waste some time?" I give her a weird look.

"Sure why not, read away," I add and she reaches under the table and pulls out some cards and a red box which she places to the side.

"In order to read your future I need to look into your past as well."

"What a fake this lady is…" I think to myself and roll my eyes and place my hand on my chin and lean on the table. I look out and see Lee having a blast at the booth he is at and making the guy working there very angry.

"Silly Lee….He's going to win all the prizes for himself," I then look over at the lady who starts to shuffle the cards.

"I have mixed my own cards along with usual cards for reading," She says then lays them across the table faced down and she randomly picks one and flips it over.

"Um… The card is blank…" I mumble and raise my eyebrow at her.

"Even your props are fake…" I think to myself. She glares at me.

"Silence," She says and moves her hand over it and then it shows a flame.

"What the heck?" I gasp and she shushes me.

"This flame symbolizes anger. There is something that has created rage in you…?" I give her a serious look. She then moves her hand over to another card. It shows a grey cloud.

"You are troubled….and sad…you try to hide it…. But not very well? You hold some sort of secret…?" She says and I don't say anything she stares at me.

"A tragedy in your past, death? You've lost something yes?" She says while starring at a new card."This card also symbolizes change and bad luck." She shows me the card she just read and instead of an image it's just pure black. I lean in closer waiting for the next card.

"You were once happy. I see a meadow of flowers," I gasp and stare at the card as it shows a sun. "This card tells me you had fulfillment, satisfaction you were content." She flips another card and it shows star.

"You have many bonds. But you can't let go of your past," She mumbles. "I sense a very thick wall. This card tells me you had balance. It could also be a sign of your future. The star symbolizes faith and hope."

"Up to your future…" She adds and pauses as she flips over another card. It shows a person with a hooded cloak walking with a staff near an inlet that is surrounded by tall cliffs. You can't see the persons face and in the background is a crescent moon. There are eight cups in the foreground.

"This is symbolic of being in a reflective state of mind. There are things to ponder over and time to require solitude before a decision is made," She adds and then stares at me trying to make eye contact.

"This lady is scaring me…" I think to myself.

"The ten of wands, I have a feeling you will experience loneliness….sorrow…. A life changing event. A great loss," She stares at the card.

"I see lots of pain. More intense than anything you have ever experienced yet. You will have to make a choice. Your heart…" She starts to say and pauses.

"My heart what?" I say aggravated.

"It will encounter a challenge…" She mumbles. She pulls over another card and says," Sacrifice."

"What's that suppose to mean?" I ask her. She doesn't answer my question.

I sit back in my chair and stare at all the cards she has pulled over. She starts panting and then gives me a serious look.

"There is a path…you will walk the wrong way, you will get lost," She adds and grabs a hold of her beads. "You will end up in the dark as a result." She shows me a card with two hallways and the floors are stoned paths. Both however have an end that is pitch dark.

"But there is hope," She says and I lift my head and she flips over the last card. "Remember the star is also used here."

"This here is sign of love, journey, and generous friends," she says and I stare at the card.

"What is it?" I ask.

" Journey…?" I think to myself. "What's that suppose to mean."

"It's called the knight of wands," She says and nods.

"Some comfort. A connection like no other, it can mend your heart if you let it, " She says but still with a serious face.

"Love….?" I whisper.

"I'm guessing more than a friendship type…" She says with a grin. I nod.

"However!" She snaps.

"This card also tells me it's risky," She says. "This love could be used against you if you're not careful." I shrug and then the cards go blank again. She stacks them again and smiles.

"Oh what's this?" She says and picks up a card from the floor.

She moves her hand over it and then her eyes widen and she faces it upside down.

"What is it?" I shout.

"It was nothing…" She says.

"By the way you reacted it sure didn't look like nothing!" I yell.

"Lower your voice girl!" She says.

"Fine…." I huff and sit back down.

"I just have some final things to say…." She adds.

"What is it this time?" I mumble.

"I have never experienced a reading like this… So much negativity…" She adds. "It's making me sick."

I stare at her and then look at the ground.

"Well basically none of that even made sense…." I add and she glares at me.

"The cards don't lie child, I just have to say….that you are going to face something…..a decision….if you choose the wrong one you will suffer the consequences."

"That's enough!" I say angrily and push my chair back.

"You seem like a nice girl and whatever challenge is coming I hope you are prepared. You are dismissed," She says and I slowly walk out of there and look back at her and see she is gone. Her chair is empty and the red box is gone as well.

"What the…?" I gasp and look around and don't see anyone dressed like her.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Hey Yamouri!" I hear Lee shout and he's holding a big teddy bear.

"Look what I got for Sakura!" He yells and jumps up. I see him dragging a cart full of stuffed animals.

"Oh my gosh…" I say quietly and he drags it to another booth but the guy runs away. He must have seen the whole scene Lee just created at the last one. I look down at the ground.

"It was probably all fake…but she got some things right and did make some sense…." I think to myself.

"Hey you want this?" I hear Shikamaru say and he's holding a little brown teddy bear.

"Where'd you get that?" I ask and he hands it to me and I look down at it with a slight smile.

"I got bored and decided to play something only I didn't think I'd win something…." He says and scratches the back of his head and yawns.

"That's hard to believe for such a lazy guy, but then again ever since he became a Chuunin he's a lot more serious. Though he still complains a lot," I think to myself.

"You sure you don't want it?" I ask and hold it up to his face. "Look it wants you."

"Eh I have no use for a stuffed animal…" He says.

"Well at least you didn't pull a Lee…" I add.

"A what?" He says and then sees Lee throwing a ball towards bottles and the guy at the booth hiding behind a desk.

"Eh he sure knows how to ruin a game…." He adds and Choji comes back with about seven sticks of barbeque and a box of fudge.

"Choji is that…?" I gasp and rip the box out of his hands.

"Oh it's fudge," I say with a big smile and run towards a bench and rip it open and take a piece.

"Oh how delicious!" I yell and stuff another piece in my mouth. The delicious chocolate envelops my mouth and Choji and Shikamaru walk up to me.

"Yamouri that was my fudge!" Choji shouts and he takes the box, but it's already empty.

"Where did you hide the fudge?" He whines I point to my tummy and grin.

"Oh Shikamaru you should try this place I just went too…The lady is a little crazy, but it was so interesting," I say and pull his arm and Choji comes along and I can hear him chewing.

"There!" I shout and point to an empty area.

"Uh…where?" He says. My jaw drops as I stare at the empty space.

"Where did she go?" I mumble.

"Who?" Choji says.

"The future teller! She was just here like ten minutes ago…How did she….?" I say and then I put my hands on my head.

"Yamouri?" Shikamaru says and puts his hand on my shoulder. "Are you feeling ok?"

"Did I imagine it….?" I think to myself. A breeze goes by giving me a chilly feeling.

"Oh I know!" I shout and walk up to the man in the booth right next to where she had hers.

"Hey Mister do you know where that lady went…?" I say while pointing to the spot.

"Child, there was no lady there, " He says with a puzzled look.

"Yes there was!" I shout and he turns the other way.

"Why don't we get more fudge…"Shikamaru adds.

"I swear I wasn't dreaming…" I state and they give me serious looks.

"Maybe she just left to go home or something….or just moved her booth," Choji adds.

"Yeah…" I say quietly and look away.

Ino comes and talks to Choji and Shikamaru and I stare at the ground the booth was just minutes ago.

"What's this?" I think to myself and see a card facing down in the dirt. I lift it up and the part where there is suppose to be an image is just pure black.

"Didn't this card symbolize death?" I think to myself.

I stand there frozen and an images races through my mind.

"Could this be the card she didn't want to show me? Could it be my death…?" I think to myself. A breeze goes by messing up my bangs and I stand there like a ghost.


	31. Chapter 31 The Star Village Mission

I gasp as I shoot out of bed panting. I place my hand over my head. The room is dark and quiet and all I can hear is an owl making noises outside.

"Again…"I whisper and go back under the covers and lay my head down on my pillow. I was able to sleep before, but ever since that day… I get a flash back of my encounter with Kento on that mission with Neji and Naruto. I clench my pillow and stare at the wall until I fall asleep.

~::.::.::.::.:: The next morning ::.::.::.::.::~

I hear a knocking at the door and find Neji waiting for me. It's usually always Shikamaru waiting like that outside my door with his arms crossed.

"Get ready, we have an assignment," He says and I nod and start to gather my things. We head to the Hokage's and see a pigeon fly out of the window.

"Aww…what a cute pigeon," I say and then it makes a dropping almost landing on Lee's face.

"Aah!" He shouts and jumps behind Neji. I let out a big laugh and Lee glares at me.

"Quit fooling around you two!" Neji shouts and we walk up the stairs.

"Ah, finally," Lady Tsunade says as we enter her office and Lee closes the door.

"Alright guys, let's get straight too it. The village hidden in the stars has requested our help with security for their village. Apparently they have been getting attacked and need some extra military power so I decided to send you three to get help out…." She says.

"The star village?" I asked puzzled. "Never hear of it."

"What! You don't know?" Lee asks and I shake my head.

"About two hundred years ago a shooting star hit the village and it's said that it contains a mysterious power that effects chakra..." Lee starts.

"So it's been targeted by foreign villages," Lady Tsunade adds.

"A shooting star…" I think to myself. This mission sounds like a mission for me.

"So your mission is to protect the star," Tsunade adds.

She continues talking and then after a few minutes she says we can leave. Neji and Lee bow and I do too only because it would be awkward if I didn't.

"Alright let's go," Neji says and we start to head to the gate.

"You have everything?" Neji asks and Lee and I nod and we start to head into the woods.

"Alright I'll take the lead from here on out. We might run into danger on the way," Neji adds. Lee and I stay close behind.

"Sounds good!" I shout back and then suddenly Naruto passes us.

"See you guys there!" Naruto shouts

"Naruto hold on!" Neji yells and extends his arm out but Naruto continues on ahead.

"Um… what is Naruto doing on this mission anyways?" Lee asks.

"I have no idea…" Neji adds.

"Wait up Naruto you stupid…!" I yell.

"That idiot," Neji mumbles.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

We arrive to this cliff and see Naruto about to attack someone I think it might be the client but either way Naruto is about to charge at him. We jump in front of the guy in a smoke mask.

"Stop!" Neji shouts and puts his arms out.

"Huh?" Naruto gives us a puzzled look.

"Oh you're a leaf ninja," He says and takes off the mask.

"I'm Sumaru I came to pick you and your friends up," He says. I look back at him.

"But the arrows…" Naruto says.

"Look there Naruto…" Neji says and points to the yellow smoke that Naruto was clumsily going into.

I let out a big sigh. He walks to it and looks down.

"Only Naruto wouldn't see something that big…" I whisper.

"The border canyon of the land of bear is internally filled with poison gas. The fog acts as a barrier against foreign invaders," Neji explains.

"You should be grateful Naruto, Sumaru saved you life! What a beautiful start of a friendship between star and leaf," Lee says with excitement.

"I didn't need his help," Naruto snaps. Someone always has to go make things complicated.

"I didn't have to help you know I could have just watched you perish," Sumaru adds and they just glare at each other.

"Not again…." I mumble. "Why does Naruto never get along with the clients?" Lee lets out a frustrated sigh.

~::.::.::.::. A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

Sumaru leads us to this building and we see a man sitting at the front with purple grayish hair and blue eyes.

We take a seat in front of him on these matt things. I look around at the empty place. Not much decoration.

"I'm Akahoshi and I serve as deputy Hoshikage of this village," He says.

"A deputy?" I ask. "But…"

"The third Hoshikage passed quite suddenly a year ago. So for now the village is currently without a leader," Akahoshi adds.

"But I thought only the five great villages could have a kage," Neji adds.

"Yeeeaaah," Naruto adds annoyingly.

"That makes no difference," Sumaru butts in defensively.

"The people of this village is inferior to no one we may be small but someday this village will rival those of the five great lands. And when that day comes I will be Hoshikage.

"He sounds just like Naruto…" I say quietly.

"Be quiet," Akahoshi adds. "Return to your training at once!" He gets up and leaves and Naruto calls after him.

"Where are you going mister?" I shout.

"Naruto!" Lee yells and Naruto is out the door.

"There he goes again…" I add and Neji sighs and looks down he has that look where he could strangle someone right now.

"I'm sorry about our friend," Neji apologizes. "Please continue sir."

"Yes well like I was saying. Yes like you correctly pointed out, the Shinobi of our land are not qualified to even have a kage. However we possess a star that the kages of the five great nations and hidden villages covet. Someday we'll harness the power of the star and our village will at last be able to seat a sixth kage," He adds.

"So your enemies have been trying to get that star?" Neji butts in.

"That's right, our scouting team managed to get some useful intelligence," He continues.

He continues explain things and I get a funny feeling like something isn't right here. We get news that there is trouble going on in the training dojo and he tells us we should check it out so we get up and leave. Neji says Naruto is up ahead and we see him standing at the cliff with Sumaru.

"Naruto!" I shout and they both turn and face us.

"There was a distress call from the training room," Lee tells them. "What happened out here?"

"Bad news guys, the star was stolen. It was a ninja and he flew off using chakra somehow," Naruto say. Neji gasps and Lee asks if he actually saw this.

"I thought Shinobi can't fly…" I add. And Naruto makes a straight face.

Neji uses his byakugan and then faces us.

"He's too far out I lost him, but Naruto was correct," Neji adds.

"Incredible!" Lee gasps.

"Oh no way Naruto was telling the truth!" I add.

"What are you trying to say Yamouri?" Naruto starts to shout. "You didn't believe me?"

"Yeah…." I mumble and he starts having a hissy fit. Sumaru says it be a good idea to head back and report the star is missing. We agree and I look out beyond the yellow mist.

"Yamouri!" Neji calls and I see they are already up ahead.

"Why are you always so behind?" He adds and I roll my eyes and Sumaru just stares.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"What someone got away with the star?" Akahoshi yells and Sumaru tells him yes and we just kind of sit there awkwardly.

"There were people training there when it happened, but the enemy used a jutsu and knocked them out," Sumaru explains and Akahoshi punches the ground and says it's pathetic.

"This guy doesn't sit well with me," I think to myself.

"You wouldn't say that if you saw the chakra this guy had!" Naruto butts in.

"What he really that impressive of a foe?" Lee shouts and Naruto and him start talking about it and that he had wings.

"Is this true Sumaru?" He asks.

"Yes the ninja art kujaku, no question about it," Sumaru says and Akahoshi's eyes widen.

"That jutsu is unique to this village right?" I butt in and he turns around to face me.

"Yeah, and only those who master full star training can…" He starts and Akahoshi interrupts him and Neji in his jerk attitude tells me that this village has a right to its own secrets.

"So does a person," I snap at him and his he faces forward again. It still bothers me that he knows about my secret and he treats me differently. It's aggravating.

"I beg your pardon," I tell Akahoshi and he nods.

"Please my lord, just give me the order, responsibility for the theft of the star to rest on me alone," Sumaru begs.

"No our mission was to protect the star and we let it slip away we are to share in the blame we will retrieve the star," Neji snaps in.

"Very well, we will leave this to the leaf ninja and Sumaru you will take care of your fallen brother in," Akahoshi adds.

"But they're outsiders what do they know of our ways?" Sumaru butts in.

"That's an order Sumaru!" Akahoshi snaps. We walk out of there and stand outside.

"Hey are your friends of yours that got knocked out gonna be alright?" Naruto asks and we all turn to face Sumaru who looks annoyed by the question.

"Don't worry about it, ok?" He snaps and Naruto gives him a puzzled look.

"You're outsiders, it's none of your concern, now quit acting like we're friends," He snaps and walks by.

"Well then…" I say quietly.

"That guys a real piece of work!" Naruto shouts.

"Neji I know you want to go with the books, but we don't have any leads…" I add and he faces me.

"She's right Neji," Lee adds.

"Truly, we do. Did none of you pick up on it? Their leader Akahoshi is clearly hiding something," Neji explains.

"Oh I kind of got that too…" I add fidgeting with my fingers. "He does not sit well with me."

"Hiding?" What are you talking about?" Naruto bursts.

"Where there is smoke there is fire…" Lee adds. I try not to let out a laugh because it seems like Lee was being serious.

"You're moving too fast for mee!" Naruto yells and stomps his foot.

"I'm going to look around the village for something, "Neji orders. "Yamouri, Lee I want you two to look after Akahoshi, keep an eye on him."

"What does that leave for me to do?" Naruto yells.

"Oh….Uh why don't you look after Sumaru…"Neji adds.

"You got it! I'll be on him like fleas on a dog! I'll meet up with you later!" Naruto shouts and runs off. I let out a big sigh.

"He's going to annoy the heck outta that guy," I add and look over at Neji.

"Patience has never been his strong suit, no question," Lee adds. Neji starts to walk off and Lee and I go take off as well.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few hours later ::.::.::.::.::~

"We've been in these bushes for awhile Lee…" I whine and he nudges me.

"I know Yamouri, but we can't just charge in there!" Lee whispers.

"Lee…How many times have I told you not to nudge me!" I raise my voice a little. We hear an owl in the background and it won't stop whooing.

"Arg I can't take that sound anymore!" I shout while still whispering.

"Ssssssh!" Lee says and his busy brows twitch a little.

"Don't shush me!" I say and then we see two people walk out of the building.

"Finally some action," I mumble and we stare at them.

"Let's face them head on!" Lee says and stands up.

"Stop that!" I say and push him back down and cover his mouth.

"Our mission is to surveillance not fight," I add and then they walk by our bush.

"Ok let's go!" I say and he sulks.

"Eh... Creeping…Creeping…" Lee Mumbles and we find a barrel and get inside it and we follow behind them.

"Yamouri…" Lee whines.

"They haven't noticed us yet," I add while peeking through a hole I made in the front.

"Creeping….Creeping….Creeping…" He mumbles.

"Stop saying that! We are not creepers!" I yell, but still maintaining it like a whisper.

They stop walking and we move the barrel to the bushes and they look back at us and then begin walking off again.

"It would appear that we escaped their attention," Lee says.

"To the right!" I order and then the two guys disappear.

"They vanished!" I shout. We take off the barrel and look around frustrated.

"They went this way…." I say. And suddenly a bunch of kunais are thrown at us.

"Hold on we are not your enemies!" I yell while throwing my own kunais to deflect them.

"Well Leaf Shinobi…" One of them says,

"Don't you have a thief to capture?" The other says.

"That may be so, but there is always the distinct possibility that the two of you are enemies in disguise!" Lee yells and I slap my forehead.

"You got a lot of nerve!" He yells.

"We didn't wanna be rude… We just didn't have any leads…"I add.

"We wanna see the star back where it belongs so…." I continue.

"So you creep after us?" The fat one says.

"WE WERE NOT CREEPING!" I shout and stomp my foot.

The other smirks.

"What a waste of time," He says and makes a grin.

"If you really want to do us a favor then stay out of it!" They say and disappear.

"How rude," I mumble.

"We should go find Neji," Lee says and I nod and we start to walk off.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"There you are!" Lee shouts.

"Neji! Naruto!" I yell and we begin panting as we stop running.

"What happened to them?" Lee asks. I look over at the kids lying on the ground.

"Our friend stuck again," Neji says.

"What?' Lee yells.

"Yup and this time they took Sumaru," Naruto adds.

"What why?" I gasp. I look over at the kids who are unconscious.

"Regardless our first task is to make sure these people here are alright, help us carry them back," Neji says and starts to walk over to them.

"Of course," Lee adds. And I nod and walk over with Naruto.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

We finally get all the kids back into the shelter place. We see Hokato sitting by a bed and Lee and I tuck in all the kids we just brought in.

We notice a guy try to stumble out and Lee and I just stare at him. He seems crippled or something.

"Neji…" I say quietly and he goes outside with Naruto.

Lee and I walk out and sit by Naruto and Neji leans against a tree. Everyone else is inside.

"They say his condition is stabilized at least…" I add.

Naruto says that it's weird the way they think about the village and he continues to throw rocks down the hill. The girl looks over at us and waves.

Naruto waves back at her and she carries a bucket inside.

"What are you saying?" Neji asks.

"I know how they feel, wanting to protect their village and friends…I'd do the same thing and risk everything… even my life," Naruto continues.

"We all would," Neji says.

"Well we can't just sit around…we should go after the star," Naruto says and wipes off the dust from his pants.

"Yeah but if they didn't get it back then they wouldn't have to suffer the training," I add.

"Yamouri has a point," Lee says.

"Hmm!" Naruto says and makes a stupid face.

"Oh is Naruto thinking what I am?" I think to myself and it gets quiet.


	32. Chapter 32 Out of Our Hands

"Without the star they can't train..." Naruto starts babbling.

Neji says we still have to get the star and it is not our business what these people decide to do with it afterwards.

"Alright, Lee, Yamouri, I want you two to investigate the leader again," Neji adds.

"What again?" I shout. "He doesn't even do anything…"

"I want to know why that ninja risked his life into the valley of death and why he took Sumaru. The shinobi who grabbed the star had a very different chakra from the one who took Sumaru, They are two different shinobi," Neji explains.

"What's that mean?" Naruto asks.

"That this mission is more complicated than we thought…" Neji adds.

"Oh how fun," I add sarcastically. Lee and I start heading back to where we were earlier.

"There is no one here…" Lee says as we hang upside down.

"They must have left recently…" I mumble.

"What a perfect opportunity to snoop inside!" Lee shouts.

"Ninja art, phantom jutsu!" Lee shouts and disappears. I look around and don't see him.

"Wait when did you learn ninjutsu?" I shout and see him standing by the door.

"Come on Yamouri!" He shouts.

"Lee that's not ninjutsu!" I yell and fall down on my butt. We peek into the hallways and hear a door open.

"They're coming this way!" I whisper and I use my invisible jutsu on Lee and I and we stand by the wall. He comes and stands right beside us.

"Oh please leave before it runs out," I think to myself.

"Funny thought I heard something…" He mumbles to himself and walks off. The jutsu wears off and we walk down the hallway.

"They've set this place up like a hospital or something…" I add and we peek through some doors.

"Wait Lee there is someone in here!" I gasp and he comes over and we peek through.

"It's… Sumaru!" Lee shouts and we see a tube connected to his mouth. Lee opens the door and we walk inside.

"What the heck?" I shout.

Sumaru mumbles the word mother and Lee gives me a puzzled look.

"Sumaru!" I whisper as I gently shake him to wake up.

"Lee we have to take him and tell Neji!" I yell and he agrees and we both start to shake him and his eyes flutter open.

"What happened…?" He mumbles. I tell him we'll explain on the way and he nods and his head is droopy.

We gently take out the tube and other things and Lee takes one of his arms and puts it around his shoulder and I take another and we walk out of there and no one even shows up.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

He tells us what happened last at the cliff that and that all he remembered was being attacked and it going dark. We slide back the door and hear the conversation going on. That they are going after Naruto and the sick boy offers to go.

"No I'll go," Sumaru stutters. They gasp as we open the door and they look over at us.

"Sumaru! You're ok?" They ask and Neji stares at him.

"We found him in your kage's place unconscious and heavily sedated," Lee adds and they gasp again.

"But why?" The Hokato asks.

"The shinobi who knocked you guys out and took Sumaru was not a ninja from another village," I add and they widen their eyes.

"No indeed it was your leader, the one who stole the star and the one who attacked you are two different people," Lee says.

"Neji already said that…" I add and he gives me a funny look like he wanted to take the credit for that. I smirk at him and we place Sumaru on the bed.

"Why would he do that to us?" They whisper.

"When will you finally realize that this man, Akahoshi is using you!" Neji snaps. They all turn to him.

"That boy isn't the only one…if you continue like this, you will all be sick," Neji says while point to the boy with the staff.

"You're lying!" One of them says.

"Maybe the other shinobi, the one who took the star can explain what is really going on," Neji adds on and Lee gets excited.

"Then our next step is to find that shinobi no matter what!" Lee shouts.

"The forest in the land of bears is deep, you're never going to find your way through the woods on your own," Sumaru adds.

"Then show us," Neji says strictly and he nods.

"You have to rest," He tells his sick friend.

"Are we set then?" I ask and then the four of us walk out the door. Sumaru leads the way.

"This is all confusing me…" I mumble.

"I know it is," Lee adds.

Neji has his byakugan working scanning everywhere.

"I want to get some fighting in," I think to myself.

We stay close behind Sumaru whose eyes glow for a second than he speeds up.

"Don't get left behind again, Yamouri…." Lee adds and I glare at him.

"Almost there!" Sumaru calls.

"We are definitely close," Neji adds.

"Wait for us!" We hear someone call and look behind and see the other kids coming in right behind.

Sumaru nods and we finally arrive at the scene. The whole mob of us.

The girl Akahoshi is fighting sees us and stares at Sumaru.

Akahoshi then uses his chakra and wraps it around Sumaru.

"Sumaru!" The woman yells.

"Why is he acting this way!" One of the girls says.

"Yes it's true! Isn't it obvious?" I yell. She nods and then looks down.

"Anyone who treats his students this way does not have a right to be called sensei!" Lee shouts at him.

"Everything I did was for the sake of the village! To get back the star from this thief!" Akahoshi yells. I clench my fist.

"Now just hold it! That woman is Sumaru's mom!" Naruto yells.

"My mother?" Sumaru mumbles.

"Yes Sumaru your mother, but also your enemy!" Akahoshi adds. "All that matters is that she stole the star! And by doing so risked the destruction of the village and everyone in it!"

"That isn't true! She took it so you guy couldn't train anymore because it's the star that is risking your lives!" Naruto yells.

"You fool giving your life for the sake of the village is every shinobi's dream! Sumaru knows that! And will put the five great nations to shame one day! Isn't that right?" Akahoshi adds.

"Yes….I will be Hoshikage and I will make them all pay!" Sumaru yells. He takes out kunai and puts it to his throat. Akahoshi tells the woman she has a choice to give back the star for Sumaru's life and she tells him to stop.

"What is it? Did you come to see the error of your ways?" He adds.

"You win Akahoshi," She mumbles and with her chakra lifts the boulder.

"What is she doing?" I gasp and then he lets Sumaru go and he faints.

Akahoshi now holds the star. The woman falls to her knees and the rock falls with Naruto on top still.

"Aah!" he yells. Akahoshi then hurts Sumaru's mother.

"That was a dirty trick!" Naruto yells and makes some colons.

"Are you forgetting it was I who hired you?" He yells.

"Wait Naruto!" Neji yells.

"Are you serious Neji?" I shout.

"Our mission is done here. We cannot interfere!" He shouts. "On no account can we go beyond the scope of the mission for which the client hired us!"

Hokato says she will not leave Sumaru and Akahoshi calls her a rogue ninja and leaves with the star.

"You'll be sorry Hokato," Says one the guys and then they disappear.

I stare at the woman who is sitting there starring at Sumaru and Lee and Hokato look after him.

~::.::.::.::.:: Later that day ::.::.::.::.::~

Sumaru and his mom are brought back to the cave that she has apparently been living in for the past ten years or so.

Lee, Naruto, Hokato and I sit outside waiting as the sun goes down and it starts to get dark.

"There it is!" Shouts Naruto pointing to a red thing in the sky.

"That star," He says and calls it something weird.

"I think most people know it as the planet mars," Lee says.

"Whatever," Naruto mumbles. "That's what Sumaru called it. He said it watches over him."

"He gave the same name to his mother," Hokato adds. Lee starts to tear up.

"The ties of love between a mother and her child," Lee sobs. I look up and see my star. I never noticed that mine is bigger than others. My star resembles Kyho…even though it was Kento who gave it to me.

Neji comes out and walks towards us.

"How are they doing?" Naruto says anxious.

"They are both resting comfortably, but she's hurt badly. She was already weakened by the effects of the star training; fighting Akahoshi may have been too much. Her chakra net work is failing. All I know is if she tries that jutsu one more time she'll die," Neji explains and I look down at the ground.

"Are you positive? Wait! Grandma Tsunade," Naruto shouts and Neji looks down at the ground.

"Just wait till I get my hands on that Akahoshi!" Shouts Naruto making fists.

"Naruto….we can do nothing," Neji says.

"But he is a villain!" Lee adds.

"If we of the leaf village were ever to betray a client, than no other village would trust us again!" Neji says.

"So we aren't going to do anything?" Naruto continues making a fit.

"Maybe we could ask the hokage for advice," Lee adds.

"We could also give them better treatment in the village hidden in the leaves," I add.

"Alright we'll let the matter rest till then," Neji says.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Sumaru where is your mother?" Her bed is empty!" Naruto shouts. We find him sleeping on the desk.

"What?" He gasps.

"Oh no…" Neji adds.

"Could she have gone after the star….?" I add and Neji nods.

"We need to hurry!" Neji yells.

"We have to stop her!" Yells Naruto. We hurry towards the training dojo where the star is at again.

Suddenly he stops and stares at into space, he yells no. He stands there quiet.

"What is it?" Naruto asks and he doesn't answer.

"I will make him pay!" Sumaru yells and takes off with wings just like we've seen Akahoshi use before.

"She must have…" I start to say and Neji says we need to hurry.

We see the rope is still there for crossing the valley of death. Naruto heads straight there and starts running on it.

"Naruto wait! You can't just run off on your own!" Neji yells.

"What about Sumaru huh?" Naruto yells back.

"It's obvious he went to get his revenge on Akahoshi," I add and get a shiver down my spine. Hokato gasps.

"If he raises his hand to his chief not only will he his people see and possibly turn their backs on him, but he will probably loose the fight!" Lee says.

Hokato starts to run onto the rope and we follow after her.

We get there and see a big mob of people circling the dojo with the star inside.

"It looks like they have immobilized the entire village's head ninja!" Hokato adds.

"That's why we have to just sit here and observe," Neji says. "You can't just run off whenever you feel like it," Neji says angrily to Naruto who just makes a face.

"We move in when I say," Neji adds and uses his byakugan.

"Sumaru is inside the chamber," Neji says.

"Is his mother ok?" Naruto says and he shakes his head.

"I can't bear this anymore we have to do something!" Shouts Naruto and he starts to stand up and Neji puts his hand in front of him.

"No Naruto sit down," Neji snaps.

"Get your hands off me!" He snaps back. "I'm going to kick Akahoshi's butt!"

"This matter is the star village's concern," Neji says. "We must stand back and let the villagers resolve this themselves."

"There has to be something we can do…!" I add.

"Exactly! I have a good mind to go over there and punch Akahoshi myself!" Lee says. I put his head down.

"You're starting to sound just like Naruto!" I yell. Then I smile at him

"Are you telling me we're just going to sit on our butts and let them tear that guy to pieces!" Naruto yells.

"I am, unless the village orders us to attack Akahoshi we cannot do anything," Neji explains.

"Archers take aim!" Yells one of the ninja.

"Oh no!" I gasp as they throw arrows with fire on the dojo.

The place explodes and everyone gasps.

Naruto looks like he is just about to lose it.

"Neji…" I mumble and he makes a sad face.

"How could we do nothing and let this happen?" Naruto yells.

Hokato runs to the fallen building and she sobs.

"Sumaru!" She yells.

"Listen to me! If you continue with the star training you're all going to die!" Hokato yells "The person who stole the star was Sumaru's mother, but the only reason she did it was because it was the only way to protect you from it!" They start to talk among themselves.

"Don't tell me you actually believe this nonsense! The ones who can't with stand it are the ones who don't love the village enough!" Akahoshi yells. "Those with enough loyalty will become great shinobi. One day our humble land will surpass the five great lands.

Suddenly the sick boy comes out of nowhere and stumbles his way towards the crowd.

"Listen to me! There's something that all you need to see!" He says and opens his shirt and reveals purple marks on his chest.

"The star did that?" I gasp while putting my hand on my mouth.

The boy then explains that he endured the pain he was in, to continue training and he did it for the village. He faints and Hokato catches him.

They continue whispering.

"You weaklings!" Akahoshi shouts and aims the bow and arrow towards Hokato and the boy.

Another boy steps in and stands in front of them. He says he will no longer follow him. The other kids agree and join them.

"They have betrayed us!" Akahoshi yells. He then admits he was the one who killed the previous Hoshikage.

"This has turned into an even bigger mess…" I mumble.

All the other ninja then join the children. Akahoshi then shoots an arrow towards Hokato and the sick boy takes the hit for her.

"No!" I gasp and cover my eyes.

"Why?" Lee adds. The boy falls to his knees. Akahoshi takes the star out of his shirt and puts it to his chest.

"What is he doing?" I yell and he places it inside. Beams of light shoot out and his eyes start to glow.

"Such immense power! "He yells and then some sort of light pours out and his hair changes color and it creates an aurora and then it turns into a dragon thing and attacks the villagers.

It then throws a ball towards at us and we fly back. Naruto goes after him to fight and I slowly stand myself back up.

"We should help Neji!" I yell and he slowly starts to sit up as well. Suddenly Sumaru appears in the arms of his mother only it seems like an illusion.

She helps Naruto fight and he uses his Rasegan and then a big explosion.

~::.::.::.::.:: The next morning ::.::.::.::.::~

'You guys destroyed the very thing you were suppose to protect! Not only did you fail the mission, but now we have to pay for the expenses," Lady Tsunade says.

We all take the blame for it and Lady Tsunade says it's ok.

She explains that the mission was canceled since the client turned out to be the villain and that Akahoshi and his two assistants are being punished. Naruto starts laughing and I yawn.

"I guess that means the star village will be peaceful again!" Naruto says with a big smile. Shizune walks in reporting that the kids are going to be fine including the sick boy. Naruto runs out of the office and Lady Tsunade yells at him.

"Typical Naruto," I add. Neji smirks and Lady Tsunade excuses us.

"Time to go take a nap!" I shout while walking down the stairs.

"I think Shikamaru is a bad influence on you," Lee says.

"What!" I shout making a fist.

"I agree," Neji says and I glare at them and walk off and they just smirk. I'm sure they are on their way home this very minute to take a nap as well.


	33. Chapter 33 Treasure Hunt in the Leaf!

"Sooo apparently Lee has built his own fighting dojo somewhere," I mumble to Neji.

"How amusing," He adds.

"Yeah well that's him for ya," I whisper.

"I think we've trained enough for today why don't we take a break," Neji says and takes a seat by the tree.

"Oh…Ok if you're sure," I add. He just nods and a breeze goes by.

I take a walk and see signs pointing somewhere. I ignore them and then see a flyer with Lee's picture.

"What the…?" I say quietly and the paper flies away.

"He really went all out with this," I add. I realize it's been about two weeks since I've had a day like this. I've been very busy with missions. I make up for it though because during most of the night I train.

"I want something sweet on a stick," I say to myself and see Guy-sensei walk by with a grey afro and a mustache.

"Guy-sensei….?"I mumble. I walk up to him. "Why are you dressed like a homeless person?"

He gives me a puzzled look.

"Um…? " He starts to mutter something.

"Aw, why are you and Lee so weird," I yawn and walk away and he just stares after me.

"Gah, everyone is out doing something," I sigh and ask a lady for an ice cream.

"Yum! Vanilla my favorite!" I shout and see Lee and Naruto run by.

"Huh?' I stare after them and then continue to enjoy my ice cream.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few days later ::.::.::.::.::~

For the first time in weeks I awake because of a funny feeling, not because of a nightmare.

"Did I hear something?" I shout and roll my eyes and look out and see a fog. I shake it off and go back to sleep.

I hear a knocking at my door and get angry and throw a chair at the door.

"WHAT IS IT?" I shout and open the door and see Shikamaru standing there with a scared look on his face.

"Um…we have a mission. Well more like a task really," He adds. I nod and get dressed.

We walk around town for a bit. He explains that the village might be attacked at any moment and that some blue prints were stolen.

"What a drag…." I sigh.

"That's my line!" He says and I roll my eyes.

"So the village is on a special security alert," Shikamaru adds and we walk into the Hokage's office.

Sakura and Naruto walk in and Naruto starts babbling about a fog last night.

"Oh yeah I saw that too!" I add.

"Really?" Sakura and Naruto say at the same time.

"There wasn't any fog, what you saw was a smoke screen," Shikamaru explains. Naruto makes a stupid face.

"Sakura Naruto! The reason we took you two off is because we want you to work with Shikamaru and Yamouri on a special mission,' Lady Tsunade explains.

"That's right, first thing we need is for you guys to gather more people," Shikamaru says and we nod and excuse ourselves.

I gather Lee and Neji and we meet Shikamaru where he said too. I notice Shino and Kiba and Ino along with Sakura and Hinata and Naruto. Lee starts doing pushups on his finger tips to warm up. I sit there and take out my doodling pad and draw Naruto with a funny look on his face and a tomato has his body. I let out a laugh and Neji gives me weird look. Naruto is walking back and forth.

I glare at Shino who just lifts his sunglasses up.

"Weirdo…" I say under my breath and then see a bug on my arm. I let out a loud scream and run behind Shikamaru.

"Get it off!" I gasp. He gives me a confused look and everyone gasps.

"What's wrong Yamouri?" Naruto yells.

I try and slap the bug and I look over at Shino who has his arms crossed.

"GET IT OFF!" I yell. I feel as if it's currently crawling all over my body and continue scratching myself all over. Then it goes calm and everyone is quiet.

Shikamaru let's out a big sigh. I then see it on my nose and let out another scream.

"Here I got it!" Naruto yells and slaps my nose. I glare at him and push him. "Stupid," I hiss.

"Wow I've never seen you scream or act like that," Sakura adds with a surprised look.

"I didn't even know you had that in you," Lee adds.

"Quit fooling around you guys," Neji adds.

Naruto continues pacing around. We continue waiting and then finally Choji shows up with a bag of chips.

"Oh I guess he stopped for a snack along the way," I add.

"What are you trying to say Yamouri?" Ino shouts.

"Get out of my face!" I hiss and Lee puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Are we waiting for anyone else?" Choji says.

"I'm glad we can finally get started," Shikamaru says tiredly.

"As you all know the village has been put on security alert. You're probably wondering why," Shikamaru continues. Then everyone starts talking about the smoke screen.

"I can't believe I didn't notice it…" I sigh.

"This is as much that we know, the Anbu have had a man on constant surveillance for the past two weeks. He had broken into construction foremen's house. Once inside he found the chest containing all the blue prints for the important buildings in the leaf village, and he stole them," Shikamaru continues.

"Blue prints?" Lee asks.

"So what's the big deal? What can a guy do with a bunch of stolen blueprints?" Naruto butts in.

"Oy…" I sigh.

"What can he do with them? Give me a break…" Ino whines.

"Oh Naruto…" I hear Hinata say quietly.

"In the wrong hands, the blue prints for around the village could prove disastrous," Neji explains.

"How?" Naruto says.

"Once the enemy has a detailed analyzes of the structures it would be a simple matter for them to find the most efficient way to break into the village," Neji adds. "What if they have the blueprint to lady Tsunade's mansion? It would be child's play to devise an attack on Lady Tsunade's room."

"And if they fall into the hands of an assassin…" Kiba states.

"Your right…I never knew how dangerous this could be," Naruto mumbles.

"That smoke screen last night was something the suspect he used for his get away," Shikamaru adds.

"I see…" Shino adds and I roll my eyes.

"Despite all the smoke, the black ops were able to corner him in the eastern forest. But before they could get him to say anything he blew himself up," Shikamaru says. "Anbu searched the sight and concluded that he did not have the blue prints when the explosion occurred. We have to hope that they aren't already in the hands of the enemy, or the hidden leaf village could be history. You can see why Lady Tsunade ordered the emergency security alert."

"So….What's our mission…?" Kiba adds.

"Since he didn't have the blue prints when he died our mission is to find where he hid them and recover them," Shikamaru says.

"It's like finding a needle in a hay stack…" Neji adds.

"This guy has a reputation of setting some really nasty boobie traps and chances are we'll run into some when we look for the blue prints," Shikamaru says.

"You said boobies," Naruto says with a giggle. We glare at him of course.

"We understand just give the order and we'll get started!"Ino says.

"Apparently this guy has come in the village before posing as a carpenter," He says and throws us each a picture of an old man wearing a green hat. "The man's name was Geno."

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

W start to walk into the village. Apparently Naruto knew him and goes on saying that he was a really nice guy who loved ramen as much as he did.

"Come on Naruto it was all an act…" Shikamaru says.

"But bad guys aren't supposed to love ramen…." Naruto says.

"No… Bady guys love ramen…they LOVE it, "Choji mutters. I let out a giggle.

"Choji maybe if you talk some sense into him he'll listen, "Shikamaru says. Choji then says he has never seen a bad guy eat there before and Shikamaru gets frustrated.

Shikamaru leads us to the foreman's house and we sit in two rows and Shikamaru in the middle.

"Here's the list to all the blue prints that were stolen, I can't tell you how ashamed I am for not guarding these plans properly. I can never face lady Tsunade again," Says the man. Shikamaru starts looking threw the little booklet he gave us.

He then asks him which construction site Geno was working in. The guy then says that Geno didn't work on any of those.

"But didn't you say Geno worked for you?" Sakura asks.

He then explains outsiders are only allowed to work on residential areas. Shino points out there is a possibility he might have set up traps and Neji agrees to check also and takes the booklet from Shikamaru.

"I think you're best qualified to handle this, Hinata," Neji says and hands it to her.

"I would like to volunteer to help!" Says Lee.

"I would also," I add. Neji, Hinata, Lee, and I walk outside. We split the papers in half and Neji and Lee take one half and Hinata and I take the other and we split up.

"Oh I think this is the first time we are working together on a mission," I tell Hinata and she smiles. We walk to a building and Hinata uses her byakugan and says there is nothing. I cross it off the list and we continue going to another building and to another.

After about an hour everything on our list is checked off. We meet up with Choji, Shikamaru, Lee, and Neji at restaurant and hand Shikamaru the list

"I see so nothing unusual in any of the buildings?" Shikamaru says.

"They were all buildings according to the blueprints, there were no signs of traps," Neji says and Hinata nods.

"Do you suppose he was just acting like a carpenter as a cover so he can get passage into the village?" Lee blurts out.

"Well duh…." I think to myself.

"Well it too soon to know that for certain, but if he just came to steal the blue prints there was reason to pretend to be one," Shikamaru says.

"By the way! What were you guys looking into?" Lee says.

"We talked to some of his carpenter friends and started checking all the sites he frequented…but so far we haven't dug up any clues…" Shikamaru says tiredly. I lean over and look at the list.

"That's weird… Everything on the list is restaurants…?" I ask.

"Yeah, seems like the only time he went out was to eat," Shikamaru adds.

"Maybe he's a Choji…" I think to myself.

"Ok Hinata go check on Ino and Sakura over at the medical center. Yamouri, Neji and Lee you guys are with Kiba and Shino."

"Alright…" I sigh. We head out and I notice Shizune walk in.

We meet up with Kiba and Shino and Akamaru. I glare at Shino and they suggest we walk to the site that the explosion occurred. We agree and head out there

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Wow look at this place," I shout. The ground is all burned up and the trees as well.

"So this is where he blew himself up eh?" Lee adds. We start to look around for any kind of evidence.

"Just I thought there is no physical evidence," Neji says.

"The Anbu don't leave anything behind…."Shino adds.

Akamaru comes up to my leg and starts to sniff the tree.

"Don't get any ideas buddy," I say and then examine the tree.

"Wait I though the explosion happened from one direction…" I think to myself

"You guys check this out!" I shout. "Check out this tree, it's burned on both sides."

"With all the paper bombs of course it's burnt," Kiba adds. I glare at him.

"Yeah but why is it burned on both sides?"I add.

"She's right, if the blast came from one direction there wouldn't be marks on the back of it," Neji explains and I nod.

"To leave these kinds of burns the explosions would have had to come from multiple sources," Neji adds.

"The Anbu saw it happen?" Lee states. "They reported that all of the bombs were wrapped around the man's body when it went off!"

"Don't be so sure about that, after all the Anbu had to take cover to protect themselves from the explosion, I doubt that any of them would witness the actual explosion," Shino adds.

"Oh your right!" I snap. He gives me a funny look and then we all run in different directions and examine the other trees.

"Hey this one has burns on both sides also!" I yell. Akamaru starts barking and Kiba runs to the tree he is at.

I point out that maybe Geno had set up all the bombs and that the one the Anbu saw was in the middle and maybe he had timed it so they would set off at the same time causing one big explosion. Shino makes a point that maybe the man was leading them to this spot and he wasn't just cornered like he let them believe.

"Then it is safe that there were other eliminates to his plan!" Lee says.

"Can we be sure that those paper bombs really took him out?" Neji says and we all gasp.

"Good point," I add.

"Look its raining paper!" I shout and we look over and see thousands of pieces of paper falling into the village.

"Probably Naruto and one of his Shenanigans," Kiba says and Neji uses his byakugan and scans again for like the billionth time. I stare at the paper and then my attention is caught by Neji.

"Try over there under that tree!" Neji shouts and Lee runs over and takes it off and reveals a hole in the ground.

I walk up to the hole and look into. It looks very deep.

"So old man Geno had an escape route waiting for him all along," Kiba says.

"Yeah but he built the tunnel so the dirt would collapse by itself. So within the next two days or so it would have caved in and we would have never found it even with Neji's byakugan," I state and Akamaru starts to walk into the hole.

"Alright boy, see if you can pick up his trail," Kiba says and Akamaru sniffs around and makes a whiney sound.

"Look at that the old man even covered up his scent," Kiba adds.

"Where could Geno be now I wonder….?" Lee adds.

"Ugh this is giving me a headache," I sigh and Akamaru climbs onto my lap.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

Shikamaru updates us that the body the Anbu recovered wasn't even Geno. Also the raining paper we're the missing blueprints. There might be something going on at the academy because it was the only blueprint stolen. We tell him about our discoveries and he goes to tell Lady Tsunade.

"Alright let's go!" Neji says and we head off. We break up into partners again and this time I'm with Lee and we check the whole top part of the academy.

"I haven't found anything unusual," I tell Lee and nods saying he hasn't either. We look down and see a bunch of little kids running out of the building.

"Those kids…?" Lee says and starts to jump down.

"Lee where are you going?' I shout and start to jump down after him.

By the time I get to the ground there is no sign of Lee. I start to walk around the academy to look for anything suspicious. I run into Sakura and Hinata who are in a classroom and we go to the practice hall and Neji and Naruto explain that someone had placed a trigger in a target and if the kids had hit it, it would set off the paper bombs scattered all over the school.

"What is it Hinata?" Shino asks and Hinata says there is more than one fuse leading to the tripper. Neji checks for himself and says they lead outside and he runs out to get a better look. We run after them and Hinata and Neji stand up on the roof.

"Did you guys find anything?" Naruto shouts and Hinata and Neji are freaking out saying that there are thousands of paper bombs all over the village.

"The entire leaf village is a giant nest of paper bombs!" Neji shouts.

"What?" I shout.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"We should start by getting rid of the bombs in the academy," Shikamaru says and we walk inside.

"I volunteer to do it, "I say and take out a kunai knife.

I bend down and grab the paper bomb and slowly take the kunai to the string and cut it and take the bomb in my hand.

"There one down!" I shout.

"Well done Yamouri!" Lee says. Kiba rolls his eyes.

"We can breathe easier now," Choji says.

"I'm afraid not… our problems are just beginning…"Shino says.

"Yeah if Geno ever finds out we deactivated this one he might find a way to set off all the other ones," Shikamaru says. I look down at the ground and then I hear a pop sound and look over at Choji and his chip bag.

"Choji you jerk! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Naruto yells.

"Ok now let's put everything back the way it was," Shikamaru adds.

"Alright," Sakura agrees. Shikamaru then tells the little kids to continue training like nothing happened.

Neji and Shikamaru draw out the map to where the bombs are supposedly.

"Alright Yamouri and Shino you take this," He says and hands me a piece of paper.

"Out of all the people…Shino…." I think to myself.

"Let's go," Shino says. We start to walk around the village and we split up I look around in an apartment building and then come back and see him starring at bugs flying on a wall.

"Oh ew…." I say quietly. "How's it going?"

"Almost there," He says I stare at the bugs and they pull a paper bomb out of the wall.

I turn the other way.

"Don't tell me you're going to run off screaming again," Shino says. I give him a death glare.

"Arg! Continue searching," I order and walk up to the bomb and take out a kunai knife and cut the string.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"I think that's all of them," Shino says and we meet up with the others.

Neji says the others are inside the mountain images and we meet up with them. We See Shikamaru and Choji and an old man standing on the top and he throws a kunai knife to a bomb and then he complains that nothing happened. Neji tells him we have already disarmed all the bombs.

"Just face it! You lost!" Naruto yells at him and he throws something in the air and disappears.

"Where'd he go?" Kiba shouts.

"Over there!" Sakura yells and we see him hit a paper bomb and the ground starts to rumble.

"Whoooa!" Naruto yells.

"Release!" I shout. Then I see everyone standing around and Naruto is still freaking out.

The old man then does a summing jutsu and it's the same bird that released all the blue prints. He grabs its leg and the bird starts to fly away. Ino uses her mind transfer jutsu. Ino breaks the jutsu because his body was in pain. Lee goes towards the man and he uses that smoke stuff again. The smoke clears and the man is lying down and Lee panting next to him.

"It's not over," He mumbles.

"Where's that big bird he summoned earlier?" Shikamaru says and Hinata points to the sky.

"A paper bomb is on its foot!" She gasps. He then explains there are still some bombs on one of the faces and the bird is the trigger. The bird starts to fly closer.

"It is coming!" Lee shouts.

"I got this!" Shouts Sakura and throws some kunais at it. The bird dodges it.

"Clearly we won't be able to fight it long range," Neji adds. Naruto jumps down on top of the face image and makes his clones. He prepares his Rasegan and Hinata goes down there with him.

"It's all up to you Naruto!" Shikamaru shouts. Naruto jumps up and the bird moves and Sakura picks up a big rock and throws it down. He hits the bird and it spins out of control and disappears.

"Alright!" Sakura and Ino shout.

"Not bad," I add. Sakura uses some sort of medical jutsu and starts working on the old guy Geno. The old man dies and Naruto starts to cry. Shino points out that during this whole mess there hasn't been any casualties.

Shikamaru later explains it was just a treasure hunt. Geno's son looked just like Naruto. Also that he never really meant any danger and that it was just a game and Naruto was probably the one who made him change his mind.

Neji, Lee and I start to walk off as the sun sets. I wave good bye to them and get an eerie feeling like I'm being watched again. I shrug it off go into my house and close the curtains and lock the door.

"What a day," I sigh. I jump into bed and fall straight to sleep.


	34. Chapter 34 Out of the Shadows!

It is almost the anniversary of that day. Just four more days and it'll be about seven years since that horrible day. I plan to go to where it all started again, but until then I've closed myself off from everyone. I only go outside to train and I barely talk to Neji and Lee or even Guy-sensei. I know they suspect something, but are nice enough not to bug me about it. After all I need my space.

I place my hand on the window and stare at the rain as it falls down into the village. The only picture I've left visible in my home is the one of Lee, Neji, Guy-sensei and I. Our group picture and I remember that day like it was yesterday.

"I'd give up everything just to find you," I say quietly thinking of the old days and then I clench my fist.

I look into the coverts and find that I'm down on soups which are the only thing I actually cook. I let out a big sigh and realize I'm going to have to go outside to run to the market. I put on a big green rain jacket and grab my money pouch and run into the rain.

The ground is muddy and I inhale the smell of the rain and walk to the market just near Ino's flower shop.

"Aw good day young lady," I hear an old lady say and I smile and say the same and continue walking on ahead.

~::.::.::.::.:: Later that night::.::.::.::.::~

I walk down a narrow hallway and feel like the end is closing in on me. All that I see is a room at the end and I start to sprint towards it. The sound of lightning and thunder all around me piercing my ears. I shove the door open and see a tiny desk in the corner of the empty room. I can hear the rain falling outside and I look around the room and see a figure covered by a purple shiny silk cloth.

"Um…excuse me," I say quietly as I start to walk towards it slowly. "Hello…?"

The floor makes a squeak sound every step I take and I can hear the figure breathing hard. I stop and stare at it and realize it looks familiar.

"Um….excuse me, do you know where I am?" I ask and it goes quiet and it starts to rain even harder outside.

"In the shadows your safe yes?" It mumbles.

"What?" I ask and then the figure slowly stands itself up but it's back still towards me.

"Waking up is knowing who you really are," It says and it turns around and my heart skips a beat as I stare into the eyes of the future teller from the carnival.

"You!" I gasp and then she smiles and the cloak falls to the ground and there is no trace of her. I stumble back and run into a figure I gasp and turn around and no one is there except a mirror on the wall. I slowly walk up to it and touch the mirror as I stare at my reflection. It shatters into a million pieces and falls to the ground it cuts up my hand and I stumble back. I look down at my red hands and then I lift my head and see the sun shining through the window.

"The rain has stopped," I whisper and I stand up. I feel the room has suddenly become very warm I turn around and see flames engulfing the door and its coming closer to me.

"No!" I yell and try and break the window, but it won't break. I yell for help but nothing comes out of my mouth. I fall to my knees and start to cry and then I see Kento standing over me and I try and push him and he offers his hand to me.

"Kento…?" I say and I take it and he helps me up. I stare into his eyes and for a moment I feel like everything is going to be ok and then I feel an intense pain in my chest and I awake gasping for air.

I place my hand over my scar and then I get up for a glass of water and come to the conclusion I won't be able to sleep again. I grab my ninja pouch and head out the door.

~::.::.::.::.:: The next morning ::.::.::.::.::~

"Eh so tired," I yawn and decide to eat breakfast at the place Naruto always eats his ramen.

"Why hello! What can I get for you?" Says the old man I tell him the same that Naruto always gets and he smiles big. "Gotcha coming right up!"

"Well, well, well look who we have here," I hear someone say. I turn around and see Naruto with that cheery look on his face.

"Oh hey Naruto…" I say quietly and turn back around waiting for my ramen.

"I know your secret," He says with a smile. I give him a serious look.

"I told you to keep that on the down low!" I shout.

"Wait whaaat? I meant I know you love ramen as much as me," Naruto says and scratches his head.

"Oh…" I let out a nervous giggle and then the old man serves my ramen. I grab my utensil and start to shove the food in my mouth. I guess Naruto is sort of right I do enjoy the ramen a lot. He starts to laugh at me and orders the same.

"Where's Sakura?" I ask.

"Oh she's working with Lady Tsunade…I don't know probably on girl stuff," he says while scratching his chin. I remember her using a new type of jutsu the other day on that old man Geno. Sakura is training to become a medical ninja. So I guess she won't be the same weak girl like before. I need to step up my game. I always say that but I take the day off when I can double up my training.

"Well see you later Naruto," I add and walk away from the shop. I walk by a man who is whistling and he stares at me. I ignore it and continue walking and then I see Hikaru and start sprinting down an alley.

"I need to hurry!" I shout and run into the forest towards the tree that Shikamaru and I use to hang out at. I see it is empty besides the squirrels that live there and I quickly climb up. I notice Hikaru run by and let out a quiet sigh and lean back.

"That was too close," I say then take out my doodle pad and my favorite pencil. I start to draw the squirrel I've been observing in front of me and then when I finish I look over and see a baby pop out of the hole.

"Arg! Why didn't you tell me you had a kid!" I yell at the squirrel and it starts to make sounds at me like its aggravated by me. I give it a death glare.

"You keep that attitude and you won't get this acorn!" I shout as I take it out of my pocket and move it back and forth. It continues to make annoyed sounds and takes another step closer. I see a second baby come out of the hole.

"Oh you liar!" I shout and throw that acorn at it. It dodges it and it falls to the ground.

"Yamouri…?" I hear Shikamaru's voice and nearly fall out of the tree. I stay quiet and the squirrel keeps making sounds. I take a branch of leaves and cover myself. It doesn't work because I hear him climbing up.

"I haven't seen you up here in ages," He says and looks over at the pissed off squirrel.

"Um…What happened here?" He asks and they go back in their hole.

"I was hiding from Hikaru and decided to draw," I add while looking down at my drawing pad. He takes the drawing pad and laughs at the squirrels. He turns the page and sees a drawing of Kento, I quickly grab it out if his hand.

"Who was that?" He says with a puzzled look.

"It's none of your concern!" I snap and stand myself up.

"He looks like the guy in that picture I saw in your house…" Shikamaru adds. I look down at the ground and then jump down from the tree.

"I think it's best if we focus on training and our missions. It's pointless to waste time like this," I add he stands up and his eyes widen. "I'll see you around."

"What?" He says and I start to walk away and tighten my grip on my drawing pad.

"He's so close to figuring it out! I can't…. I won't allow him to know," I think to myself.

"Three more days," I mumble and walk back into town I notice Asuma talking to Guy-sensei and go into a store to buy some fudge. I look out the window and see Hikaru walk by and I hide behind the counter.

"Excuse me miss can I help you?" Says the lady working there. I blush from embarrassment and tell her I thought I dropped something. She goes to the back room and finds a box of fudge and hands it to me. My eyes nearly pop out of my head and she lets out a laugh. I take the box and start to walk home. The sun is setting and I look at the darkening sky.

"There's that feeling again like I'm being watched…" I think to myself and I get a chilling feeling. I look around and see a shadow lurking and I throw a rock at it and a black cat comes out of the alley.

"Mei….?" I gasp she runs up to me and looks up and gives me a cute look. I bend down and pet behind her ear just like she likes it.

"Meooow," She says quietly then runs off. "Bye kitty!"

I quickly turn my head to the side and see nothing is there. I start to walk home and I'm pretty sure now there is indeed someone following me. Could it be Hikaru? I yawn and shrug it off and start to walk upstairs to my apartment. I unlock the door and walk in and am too lazy to even turn on the light I slowly walk to my bed. I take off my shoes and leave my ninja pouch tied around my waist and lay my head down on my soft pillow. I inhale a deep breath and let it out and close my eyes tucking myself in without even changing into my pj's.

~::.::.::.::.:: Later that night ::.::.::.::.::~

I hear a glass break in my kitchen and shoot out of bed. I scan the room and it's too dark to see anything. I rub my eyes and then it goes quiet except for the ticking of the clock. I see a figure move across the room and I quickly sit up again and throw a kunai knife.

"Who's there?" I shout. I slowly put my foot on the ground and a string wraps around my foot and pulls me down and slams my body to the ground. Then it pulls me to the end of the bed. I look around but it's so dark.

I quickly break the string and stand up and feel someone punch me and I fly into the wall knocking over my dresser. A figure comes at me with a kunai and I kick his face and he grabs a hold of my other hand and starts to twist it. We knock over some chairs and I slide my other leg underneath him. He falls then kicks me again and I fall down to my knees. I can't see who it is and he moves too fast.

"What do you want!" I shout and he stabs a kunai into my arm. I then attempt to use my invisible jutsu to figure out what's going on but another string wraps around my foot. I slam hard to the ground on my side I try to get up and reach for a kunai quickly but another string wraps around my arms and my other foot. My arms fastened tight to my sides. I scan the room and then the strings start to tighten. A combination of ropes and thin but strong string.

"What do you want?" I yell again before another rope covers my mouth. The string begins to pull and drags me across the room and I make a moan sound as the rug burns my arms. It flings me towards the window and my eyes widen and then I close them as I break through the window and feel myself falling from the second story window. All I can see is glass shards flying all around me.

I fall to the ground and a pain shoots through my body and I look around to figure out what exactly is going on. I feel myself being pulled again this time being dragged around on the ground and then finally up in the air and onto someone's back.

"Aah!" I try to yell and the person starts to speed up. I look around to see if someone is around but there is absolutely no one out at this time. I try and reach into my ninja pouch and feel the string digging into my skin.

"Don't even try it!" I hear a man shout. We enter the forest and I stare at the village. Unbelievable that no one even noticed. I continue to struggle and then I feel my arm cuts and I see my arm leaving a trail of blood.

"Let me go!" I try to shout and then we come to a stop. They let me fall to my knees still tied up. They uncover my mouth and I look up and stare at four ninja. My stomach drops when I realize what village they are from.

"What do you want!" I shout, out of breath and one removes his mask.

"She put up quit a fight, but she's nothing but an amateur," Says one of them.

"Remember me?" He says with a grin and my jaw drops as I stare at the guy I thought I killed a long time ago during the Chuunin exams. Gaara had shown up to finish off his friends and that's when things had gotten weird between us.

"You…" I say quietly he grabs my pony tail and yanks it hard.

"That's right!" He shouts. "It's time for my revenge, so you're going to come with us!" He says and I grin.

"You have no idea who you're messing with," I say.

"Oh is that so? What about this then!" He yells and punches me in the face I hear my neck make a snap sound and I taste a bit of blood at the corner of my mouth. He hits me in the back of the head with something and I feel a sharp pain and my head starts to throb and I get dizzy. My eyes flutter shut and I fall back.


	35. Chapter 35 The Waiting Game

"Just wait till we get there," I hear a voice say. I slowly open my eyes and I look around and immediately feel pain on my arms and I'm unable to move them and my feet. I feel cold and notice I'm in a wagon of some sort and it's rocking back and forth as we travel on some bumpy trail.

"What happened…?" I think to myself and see a small crack in the side and the light shines through it. "Where am I?"

"Kaoru, you should feed the girl," I hear a voice say and I slowly lift my head back up. I feel light headed.

"No she can wait," he says harshly. I look back down and feel my mouth is dry. The wagon hits a bump and I fall over to my side hard and I hear the guys start yelling at each other. I try to sit myself up again but can barely move.

"Damn it…." I think to myself and the wagon comes to a stop.

"Get her some water," Says one of the guys.

"No I'd rather her be thirsty," He says with a laugh.

"Donji do it now!" I hear another voice yell. I hear him curse and then I hear footsteps coming closer and closer and I close my eyes pretending to me unconscious again. I hear the door open and I move my fingers reaching for my pouch and still can't reach it.

"Arg this is my chance!" I think to myself. He sits inside the wagon and unties my mouth.

"Alright stupid girl wake up!" He shouts and starts to shake me vigorously. My eyes flutter open and I glare at this ugly fat guy with scars all over his face. He has black hair tied back in a braid and he's dressed in cloud ninja clothes.

"Drink up you!" He snaps and puts the water bottle to my mouth. I take a sip and he tilts it and it spills on my face. He starts to laugh hysterically and then lets me take another sip and I spit it in his face.

"You brat!" He yells and pulls my hair.

"I'll kill you!" I threaten him and he stops and starts to laugh again he covers my mouth again and then walks out and slams the door still laughing. A few minutes later the wagon continues to move.

"I need to get free!" I think to myself and I start to squirm on the floor, anything to loosen the string and ropes. The patches with rug burn start to sting and I continue to move around trying as hard as I can to reach into my pouch. I try to yell in frustration and think how stupid they are of traveling by a slow wagon when there could be shinobi on their way. The wagon hits another bump and this time I fly up and hit the roof and my head starts to throb again.

"Why is this happening now?" I think to myself. "Two more days…" I close my eyes and pretend it's just another nightmare, only when I open them again I'm still in the wagon and we hit another bump.

~::.::.::.::.:: Meanwhile ::.::.::.::.::~

"Hey Shikamaru where is Yamouri?" Neji asks him and walks towards him. Shikamaru gives him a puzzled look.

"I haven't seen her since yesterday and she was acting weird," He says and puts his hands in his pockets. "Why?"

"She didn't show up for training this morning," Neji adds. Suddenly an Anbu black op appears to them.

"Neji Hyuuga and Shikamaru Nara, the Hokage needs to see you," He says and they nod and the Anbu disappears. A few minutes later they make it to her office.

"Neji, Shikamaru, we have a new situation," Lady Tsunade says.

"What's this about?" Neji asks. Lady Tsunade makes a frustrated look.

"We fear Yamouri must have…." She starts to say. Neji's eyes widen.

"She couldn't have…." Neji says quietly. Shikamaru gives them a confused look. Lady Tsunade looks down at her desk sadly.

"What are you guys talking about?" Shikamaru adds frustrated.

"You don't know?" Neji asks and takes a step back just as confused to why Yamouri's best guy friend doesn't even knowing her deepest darkest secret.

"We fear Yamouri Kesaki has run away, her neighbors reported some sort of struggle and we had some ninja check it out and the place had looked untouched like no one was even living there. Absolutely clean…" She says and Neji makes a sad face and looks down at the ground. "The neighbor is an elderly woman, so we're sure she was just imagining something."

"What? Are you sure?" Shikamaru adds.

"Yes! And to have us believe it even more we found this picture shattered in pieces on the ground…" Lady Tsunade hands Neji the group picture they had taken only a year ago. He slowly puts it back down and Shizune gives them a sad look.

"This doesn't make sense why would she leave?" Shikamaru says.

"She never told you what happened seven years ago?" Lady Tsunade says.

"Seven years?" Neji butts in.

"Yes…if I remember correctly in two days will be the seven year anniversary," She adds. Shikamaru walks out of the office and Lady Tsunade tells Neji to investigate her house again.

"I'll decide what to do if she really did run off….This is exactly what I was afraid of….Her and Sasuke are exactly alike…" She says and Neji excuses himself and meets up with Shikamaru in the hallway.

"You want to tell me what exactly is going on?" Shikamaru says with a serious and angry look.

"It's not my place to tell," Neji says and looks away.

"Neji, I've been friends with her for years….I've always wondered why some days she seems so sad and others she seems so happy. Why she never talks about her family or anything like that or why she even moved here in the first place. Why does she train so hard….?" Shikamaru says frustrated.

"Alright, but I don't exactly know the whole story," He says. Shikamaru nods and walks after him.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few hours later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright brat get out of the wagon!" I hear a voice yell and I wake up and the door opens and the fat guy is standing at the end eyeing me. He pulls the rope and I fall out onto the ground. I just realize I don't even have shoes on. I look at the sky and see the sun is just starting to go down and the sky is still blue and orange.

"Donji untie her mouth," Says one of them. So far from their voices I have figured out that the fat guy is Donji and the third guy is Kaoru and I still don't know the name of the guy I thought I killed months ago.

"Wait where's the fourth one?" I think to myself and look around and then I see them staring at me. Donji unties my mouth and I take a deep breath.

"Any words?" Says the head guy.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask. They look at each other then back at me.

"We have someone special waiting for you back at the village," He says and I give them a puzzled look. "You'll recognize him when you see him."

"Why did we travel by wagon if you shinobi and could carry me on your backs? Or are you not even ninja enough to do that," I say quietly, their eyes widen and one of them grabs my hair again and tilts my head back.

"Oh if you're worried about your friends coming after you your way wrong," He says with a grin. "Besides we traveled all night. We are far away from the leaf village. It would take them days to catch up."

I look down at the dirt trying to think of what he meant by my friends not coming after me. It's not like I want them too….I will get out of this myself without them, but Id figure at least Neji would care enough to come look for me. After all I put up quit a struggle. I'm sure the house is destroyed inside.

"Let's go," He says and pulls on a rope tied around my neck. Like a leash on a dog. He unties my feet only slightly so I can walk a little. They start to walk on the bridge and when I step on it I get a sick feeling like there's something ahead. The sun is almost completely gone and I look back at the broken wagon and we continue to walk across the long bridge as the night falls.

"Oh star on up high, watch over me and don't let this night be my last," I whisper to myself as I stare at my star appearing from behind a cloud. I notice more and more clouds as we start to head to a huge mountain. The cloud village is branched off into several different villages. I know now that in about a day we will be passing mine.

The wind picks up and one of the ninja start to curse about something and a piece of paper flies away.

"No!" He yells and leans over the bridge to try it grab it. The same one who is holding the other end of the rope. I nudge him and he starts to fall and I fall over as well. He grabs on to the edge and I hang there trying to break my arms free to save myself. The other two ninja run to him on the edge and I finally let a hand out and grab a kunai knife and cut the rope and start to fall towards the fast moving river.

"She's getting away!" One of the ninja yells and I look down and with my free hand start to untie the other and plunge straight into the ice cold river. I struggle trying to stay up and feel myself being tugged under. I take out another kunai and cut off the other strings and then see I'm coming closer and closer to a waterfall.

"No!" I shout and try to find something to grab to and swallow some water. I slam into a rock and it cuts into my side slightly and then I see the strings and ropes fall off the edge and down the waterfall. I start to pant and then I look around for the ninja and see they're gone. I take out another kunai knife waiting because I know at any moment they could attack.

"It won't end like this!" I yell and lose my grip from the rock and start to fall down the waterfall. The time seems to freeze and then I'm falling in slow motion I stare at the drops of water floating all around me. "It won't end like this…." I say quietly I gasp realizing this could be genjutsu. And then I feel myself being flung up in the air and then someone grabs a hold of my shirt and swings me on their back in a flash and throws me on the ground.

"You stupid girl!" He yells and throws his fist at me and I grab it and push him back.

"You will not lay another finger on me," I shout and take out another kunai knife. He stares at me in shock.

"Invisible jutsu!" I shout. He looks around nervously and screams for the other ninja. I grab a hold of his neck and punch his stomach and he flies up and he takes out a shuriken and throws it clumsily. I kick his face twice in a row just like I've seen Lee do many times before. I bounce off a tree and then grab a hold of his shoulders and slam him into the ground and I jump out of the way. He falls over and doesn't move. I stare at the body and hear the other ninjas arrive.

"Kaoru was weak anyways," I hear one of them say. "Donji you handle this now!" I hear him shout I turn around and a breeze goes by lifting my bangs from my face.

He jumps down and gives me a big grin.

"Now listen here missy I promise it'll only hurt for a minute or two," He says. I glare at him and he starts to do hand signs. The ground underneath me starts to rumble and I jump up a tree and he comes out of nowhere behind me and punches me and I slam into another tree. I land on my knees and slowly lift myself up. He walks towards me and takes out a club.

"Is that really all you got?" He shouts and stops walking and then I see him pour chakra into the club.

"What is he doing?" I think to myself.

"I will show you what a real cloud ninja can do! Don't underestimate me!" He yells and then he raises his club and then I see it has an electric charge running through it. He runs towards me as fast as he can and I hold my side and jump out of the way and quickly take out my sword to deflect his hit.

"Aah!" He yells and I jump back.

"Ah, a sword! Finally!" Donji yells.

"Stop!" The other ninja says.

"Atsuo what is it!" Donji yells. The name doesn't sound familiar to me.

"That sword Donji….That's the same sword that…." Atsuo starts to say. He makes an angry face.

"Bring me the sword Donji! Give it to me! We have a change of plans," He says. Donji gives him a confused look and I tighten my grip on the sword and the Donji turns around towards me.

"You heard the man give me the sword!" He yells and starts to walk towards me.

"I will never give you this sword!" I snap and take a step back.

"Don't make me take it by force!" He shouts and I raise it and he raises his club again and he starts to run towards me. My side starts throbbing and with my free hand I grip my side.

"That's enough!" I hear someone yell I look over and my jaw drops and my body collapse to the ground.

"Katajo what are you doing here?" Atsuo asks nervously. He glares at him. This is the guy that Gaara killed. Why is he here and why is he still alive?

"Long time no see girl…" He says and starts to walk towards me he punches Donji in the stomach and he coughs out blood. I try and stand up holding my side.

"I had ordered Atsuo and them to come and get you but they were taking too long, "He says with a grin I nearly fall over and he grabs my shoulder.

"Looks like you lost a lot of blood….Tell you what let's make a deal," He adds and I try and keep my eyes open.

"Give me the sword and I'll try and get over the grudge I hold," He says. Now that I have a close up I can see many scars all over his body. I start to do my hand signs and Atsuo yells at him to turn around but by the time he does I'm invisible and I start to stumble way.

"Only five minutes!" I say to myself. I look back and see them looking around and they split up. I start to run while holding my side and see a cave up ahead. With nowhere else to go I run inside and move the boulder a little to cover the door way. I continue running and fall down. I look around and can't see a thing as I continue panting out of breath.

"I think I'll be safe for now," I say quietly and then I slowly sit up and reach into my pouch and feel a little box with bandages. I lift up my shirt and place ointment over the cut and then bandage myself. I lean against a cold rock and wait with a kunai in my hand.


	36. Chapter 36 The Clock is Ticking

~::.::.::.::.:: The Next morning ::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright Yamouri it's time to fight back! No more cat and mouse game!" I tell myself and slowly stand up and look at the boulder blocking the entrance. Tomorrow is the day, and as each hour passes I get a weirder feeling like something is going to happen. I slide the boulder over and peek outside. The sun is just rising and the sky is still slightly dark.

"This is the perfect time," I say quietly. I make sure I have everything in my pouch. And most importantly my sword. I know now for certain they know about it. If I can somehow get them to spill it.

"I got it! I'm going to set up traps all over this area and wait for them to come. "It's my turn to be the cat." I look up at the sun and realize I only have a few more minutes before it is fully up and I'll be visible. I pull out a tube containing string the very thin kind of course and walk out towards the woods.

~::.::.::.::.:: Meanwhile ::.::.::.::.::~

"There has to be a clue to where she could have gone," Neji says while walking out of Yamouri's apartment with Shikamaru and Naruto.

"We can't just sit around here! What if something else happened to her! We could be running out of time!" Naruto shouts.

"Naruto….It seems clear Yamouri has made the same decision as Sasuke…..All the evidence points to it. There was no sign of anyone breaking in. This place is entirely clean," Neji adds and looks sadly at the sky.

"That doesn't make any sense! Why would she just up and leave without even a goodbye….I mean I know she kept her life private but still I'd figure she would at least leave a note or something. And how could you Neji, think that your own teammate would just get up and leave like that turning their back on the village!" Naruto says angrily.

"I have a feeling we are over looking something…."Shikamaru adds. "It doesn't make sense that her house would be this clean if she's never home."

Neji and Naruto both look over at him then Lee and Sakura show up.

"Any sign?" Lee says. Naruto shrugs his shoulders.

"I have a feeling there is something else going on Naruto," Shikamaru adds.

"When I came over her house one time I noticed how dusty everything was…I helped her clean up the place and she said she never had the time to," Naruto adds and Neji nods.

"We better tell Lady Tsunade about this," Neji adds.

"Guy's look!" Sakura yells and holds a picture of Kento and her and Kyho. "Who is that?"

"Didn't you say the anniversary was tomorrow?" Shikamaru adds. Neji nods and Shikamaru runs out the door. The others follow after him.

"Shikamaru what are you thinking?" Lee shouts.

"It makes sense she would go back there for tomorrow, right?" He adds. They head to the hokage's office.

"I won't lose another friend!" Naruto thinks to himself and tightens his fist.

"Back to where it all started…" Shikamaru thinks to himself.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few hours later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright, all set," I say quietly looking through a bush waiting for the ninja to appear. I've rigged this forest with all kinds of traps. I hear footsteps running this way and I use my invisible jutsu as I climb up higher on a tree.

"Come out of your hiding place girl!" Donji shouts I look down below them and then up at the clouds. I know it's going to rain tonight. I see Katajo look up at me. My stomach drops and I wonder if he can see me already or if he's known all along where I was.

"It hasn't been five minutes yet! Hurry and fall into my trap," I think to myself and Donji walks right into one and is flung upside down.

"Aaah! Boss!" He yells I look down at them Atsuo takes out a kunai knife and walks towards him.

"You stupid idiot," He says. I look down and see Katajo doing hand signs.

"What is he doing?" I think to myself and then Donji and Atsuo disappear.

"It's my turn!" Katajo yells and I see a clone of him and they both come at me with a lightning ball.

"A shadow clone?" I yell as I jump away from the tree and the balls hit the tree and an electric charge surges through it. He starts to do another hand sign.

I jump down from the tree and Atsuo and Donji step out of the bushes, with their weapons ready.

"You're not going anywhere this time girl!" Donji yells with a big smile on his face and he lets out his creepy laugh again.

I jump up in the air and throw out multiple kunais. Donji steps back and triggers another one of my traps and a spear shoots through his stomach.

"Uhhh!" He gasps and Atsuo looks at him with amusement.

"How pathetic," He says and takes out a kunai and walks towards him. "I've gotten tired of saving you." I see Donji start fidgeting and then he stops and his head droops to the ground.

"You killed your own teammate…" I mumble.

"So what there is no point for a weakling on a team? They just bring you down," Atsuo snaps."Katajo let me take this now!" He yells. I look up and see no sign of him.

"Earth style earth dragon!" He yells and the ground underneath starts to shake I jump back and the ground takes a form of a dragon and comes up and towards me. He lets out a laugh and I dodge but it's too fast.

"Lightning style lightning destruction!" I yell and punch the ground and let my lightning chakra flow and a bolt of electricity cuts through the ground and towards Atsuo. The dragon comes again and I use a lightning ball and then a substitution as the dragon falls onto of the log letting out a big roar as my lightning ball destroys it and pieces of rock fly everywhere.

"A substitution? That's child's play! Show me the power of the sword!" Atsuo yells. I shake my head with a grin and he makes a groan sound and starts to do hands signs.

"Earth style devouring earth!" He shouts and the ground starts to shake again.

"Is he doing the same thing again? No this is different," I think to myself and rocks and dirt start to come together forming two giant jaws.

"Eat her!" He shouts and they come at me. I use a substitution again and the jaws rip the log to shreds. I let out a gasp and use my invisible jutsu.

"Where did you go little girl?" He shouts and lets out a little laugh.

"Alright it's time I test this method," I think to myself while looking down at four exploding tags I stare at Atsuo who is just standing there while the two jaws rip trees out of the ground and the earth around them.

"Come out of your hiding!" He yells. I look around for Katajo but no sign of him.

"Alright now or never!" I tell myself and jump out of the bushes and towards Atsuo. I place the four tags just a few feet right in front of him and form a box. I appear behind him and kick him Lee style towards the square and he grabs a hold of my leg. I look at him in shock.

"It hasn't been five minutes yet how did he…?" I think to myself and he swings me around and throws me to the ground. I let out a moan as I hold my side.

"Oh you have a weak spot," He says with a smile and walks towards me. He takes out a regular sword.

"Tell you what you just close your eyes and it will only hurt for a second I promise," He says and I slowly lift myself back up on my feet.

"I told you…" I pause." You will never lay a finger on me again!" I shout and run towards him with kunais and he raises his sword and I disappear. He looks around angrily.

"I'm getting tired of your jutsu! Use a new one!" He yells and Then I kick him and he falls into the center of the square I activate it and four blue walls rise up from between the tags leaving him trapped inside.

"What is this?" He yells.

"I thought you wanted me to be more creative!" I shout.

"I've combined my ability to make a barrier and the tags along with a seal. If you try and move the tags will activate, and you will be killed instantly. Just to be safe those walls there are made from my lightning chakra. Just one hand sign and I can activate those as well electrifying you. I have placed a seal so you can never get out now. So which will it be?" I yell. He gives me a shocked look and stands completely still. I lift up my hands ready to do the hand sign and his eyes widen.

"It will be neither!" I hear Katajo call. I see a spear fly right through one of the walls and into Atsuo's chest and he falls forward activating the bombs and he lets out a terrifying scream of pain. Katajo jumps down from a tree.

"They just kill their teammates like it's nothing, how sickening," I think to myself and reach for another kunai in my pouch.

"Well done," He says. I stare at him confused as he walks towards me. "It's about time someone got rid of those idiots!" He starts to laugh and I take a step back.

"Forgive me for this," He says and uses a chakra rope and ties me with it. "This time you won't be able to cut yourself free! I don't know what those idiots were thinking using a regular one." I feel myself getting dizzy and fall to my knees.

"While you guys were fighting I used a special jutsu on you…You won't be able to move until tomorrow when we arrive to my village where I have something waiting just for you." I see the rain start to fall and the clouds grey and I fall down to the ground. I see the fourth ninja that was involved before finally arrive and tell Katajo something he nods.

"Enjoy the ride," He whispers and starts to walk off. The fourth ninja grabs me and puts me on his back and he starts to walk off after him.

"What is it that they want….if they wanted revenge then why not kill me before? They had so many chances but instead they are taking me to their village and I have no idea why," I think to myself.

"I don't want anyone to come for me…" I mumble. The ninja looks back at me and says that no one will come because he already dealt with that. I imagine Shikamaru and Neji and the others unconscious or defeated or something. I try and clench my fist but my hands won't move. It's like my whole body has been paralyzed.

"What did you do to them!" I shout. He doesn't answer me and then I feel my lips go numb and I can't even talk anymore. "What jutsu is this?" I think to myself and see that the dark is falling already. "Tomorrow is the day and look where I am. I'm sorry Mother…..Father….Kyho…but I won't be able to visit tomorrow," and feel a tear drop slip out. The rain starts to fall hard and then it goes dark.

~::.::.::.::.:: Meanwhile ::.::.::.::.::~

"You can't honestly suspect something like that just because her house is clean!" Lady Tsunade assures them.

"But she's been living there for quit sometime now….and it's strange there is no dust…." Naruto adds.

"How do you know she doesn't clean? You guys barely go over is that correct?" Lady Tsunade asks.

"Yeah but…." Shikamaru adds.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune yells as she runs into the office. Everyone turns to her.

"There was a ninja spotted just about an hour ago! They would have reported it sooner but the shinobi involved were attacked! It was said he looked like he was wearing cloud ninja clothes," She says.

"What could they possibly be doing here!" Lady Tsunade snaps and bangs the desk.

"Cloud ninja?" Naruto adds. Shikamaru raises his eyebrows.

"What is it Shikamaru?" Neji asks Shikamaru points to the window. Everyone turns and sees the hell butterfly that is Yamouri's.

"That butterfly!" Naruto shouts. "Maybe it knows where Yamouri is!"

"Lady Hokage, may I request a mission?" Shikamaru says.

"What?" She asks leaning in.

"To follow that ninja….I have a feeling he has something to do with Yamouri's disappearance," Shikamaru says and Neji looks surprised. Lady Tsunade agrees and Lee, Neji, Shikamaru, and Naruto start to head out the door.

"Wait!" Lady Tsunade says. They all turn back. "I think Sakura could be of some use," She says they look at Sakura and remember she is a medical ninja in training.

"You might be of some assitance Sakura," She tells her and she runs off with them. The butterfly appears to them and flutters around Shikamaru.

"Do you know where she is?" Shikamaru asks and the butterfly starts to lead off.

"It wants us to follow it," Neji adds. They nod and Naruto runs after it.

"Let's go!" He yells they hurry after them.

"Do you suppose the ninja from the cloud could be him?" Lee asks. Shikamaru shakes his head.

"I don't think he has anything to do with this, I have a feeling Yamouri was abducted," Shikamaru says and they speed up.


	37. Chapter 37 The Thunderstorm

~ Sorry if the story is a little confusing at the moment especially with all the flashbacks. It'll be explained later...Anyways thanks for reading so far and feel free to leave me a review of what you think so far ^_^ ~

* * *

"Almost there," I hear Katajo say and my eyes flutter open. I look around and see we're up pretty far on the mountain.

"It's almost morning…." I think to myself as I see the sunrise appearing in the clearing.

"I'm tired…are we almost there boss?" The ninja carrying me says.

"Yes we are now shut up! We don't want anyone to notice us! But I think we are going to change up the plans a little," He says with a grin.

"What do you mean?" He asks. I try and lift my head but I still can't move.

"If I heard correctly today is the day this brat's village was destroyed….why not just kill her there and then take her sword instead of bringing her to the village for Penji," Katajo adds. I feel a sudden rush go through my body and I know the instant I'm able to move I'm going to rip their heads off.

"Penji will be angered if we don't bring her to him," The ninja adds. I feel confused because I thought the whole point of them taking me was because Katajo wanted his revenge. But maybe they just wanted to try and scare me.

"You idiot he only wants to fight the last Kesaki and receive the sword by beating her in battle, it be just much more simpler to kill her why she's unable to move and take the sword for ourselves. Besides it be the same thing watching her being tortured because she wouldn't stand a chance against him," Katajo adds. "And I have a score to settle with this brat."

"Alright boss…." The ninja agrees. I close my eyes and try and concentrate my chakra to my hands. I start to get flashbacks and open my eyes and find myself sitting in front of the river I was at with a basket of laundry next to me.

"What is this? Am I dreaming again?" I say quietly. I look around and the place looks beautiful. I start to smell smoke and turn around and see the forest is just a giant grey cloud of it.

"I have to be dreaming! Wake up Yamouri! Wake up!" I shout and my voice just echoes. I start to run through not exactly knowing what I'm running too. There seems no end and every turn I make there is fire. I finally see an open area and then see my village in flames. I stop and start to cry again, I look down at a puddle on the ground and see my reflection not as the little girl, but as the current me. I run to my house and stand outside unable to speak. I try and scream but I can't, nothing comes out of my mouth, absolutely mute.

"Stop it!" I shout and see a figure start to immerge from the house. I gasp and stare at him because it's not who I expected.

"Brother….?" I say quietly he raises the sword in his hand and points it at me.

"Wake up!" I hear the ninja shout as he slaps my arm he throws me to the ground.

"I wish that you would just leave," I say quietly. I look up and see we are only a few feet away from the gate. I bite my lip and try and put on a serious face.

"Recognize this place? I remember hearing about the disaster of this village. How pathetic being swiped off the earth like that by a stupid eight year old boy," Katajo says.

"Just shut up!" I shout.

"What did you say huh girl?" He says walking towards me.

"I told you to shut up! You have no right to speak ill of this village," I yell and he grins big.

"It was your father's sword you stole right?" He says. "Do you have any idea how powerful that sword is? It can destroy an entire village with one swipe, if placed in the right hands. To be able to control such immense power only your father could wield. Your father's blood runs through your veins…and yet you can't even harness it I heard."

"Untie me and I'll prove you wrong," I say bitterly. He laughs again and at that moment I realize the jutsu is starting to wear off. But the chakra rope is impenetrable.

"There will be a thunderstorm tonight," says the other ninja staring at the sky. I look up and see thunder clouds start to form. Something to look forward to a long time ago. The black clouds gather above the ruined village darkening the sky.

"Why don't we make ourselves comfortable here first," Katajo says and kicks open the gate. I stand there frozen starring into the big space and the other ninja nudges me to walk forward, but I hesitate to move.

"What are you scared of? Oh I get it your memories, they're pouring all back in at once am I right?" Katajo yells and then he walks in satisfied with himself.

"Come on move girl!" The ninja yells. I slowly walk in and they close the gate behind us.

"How stupid to have the walls still surrounding this ruin land! Why don't we do this mountain a favor and tear some walls down," Katajo orders. Him and the other ninja look over and I kick a rock and it flings into the ninja's face. I start to kick more rocks at both of them.

"Allow me to teach her a lesson!" The ninja yells and start to do hand signs.

"Water style four wall prison!" He says and four tall walls out of water form around me and then the top starts to spill in leaving my feet under water. I realize this whole thing will be full and I will drown. I glare at them and they just grin.

"So you figured it out? Good now just watch us," Katajo says and they start to destroy the walls surrounding the village.

"Stop!" I shout at the top of my lungs and look down at the water slowly rising and just about to cover my ankles.

"What should I do! What should I do!" I think to myself and look down at the water and examine the walls. I slam my shoulder into the wall and realize they are hard as glass.

"What kind of jutsu is this…?." I mumble.

~::.::.::.::.:: Meanwhile ::.::.::.::.::~

"We need to hurry!" Shikamaru shouts. They've been traveling all night and still aren't close enough.

"What happens if we arrive there and she isn't even there?" Lee shouts.

"It wouldn't make sense that the butterfly would be leading us the wrong way," Neji adds. Suddenly the butterfly stops and Shikamaru looks confused at it. And then it quickly disappears and Shikamaru stops.

"Where'd it go…" he says quietly.

"Look up there!" Sakura yells and they look up at the sky and it's forming thunder clouds. It's going to rain hard tonight.

"Well without the butterfly how do we know which is Yamouri's village?" Naruto asks. Shikamaru starts to search through his bag for a map or something Neji uses his byakugan and scans the area.

"I sense no one else…" He adds. Shikamaru lets out a frustrated sigh.

"How frustrating…" Lee adds.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few hours later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Looks like we might be having some company," Katajo says and the ninja disappears. I get an ominous feeling again and I just know that something isn't right here. The water level has moved up slowly, but is already up to my neck. I continue struggling ramming my shoulders into the walls and kicking and doing all I can, but with the chakra rope wrapped around my body tight it's impossible.

"Oh what's this?" Katajo says while walking over to the three tombstones behind where my house use to be. He bends down and picks up the picture I had left last visit.

"So this is where they rest, well not anymore…." Katajo mumbles and takes out club and starts to break them.

"STOP!" I yell angrily as loud as I can he continues to crush them down and the water is up to my chin.

"Please stop!" I shout and see he is done and he starts to walk over.

"There now I won't have to hear your stupid voice anymore," He says as the water covers my mouth. I only have a matter of minutes before I can no longer breathe through my nose. Tears start streaming down my face as stare at what is now just a pile of rocks and dirt.

"Oh did I upset you?" He says. I start to squirm uncontrollably and he laughs saying it's useless.

The thunder clouds start to roar. Katajo looks up at the sky puzzled and I feel an incredible rush through my body. The water covers my nose and I hold my breath. It rises and covers my whole head. I close my eyes trying to think of something. Just like Shikamaru does when he's in a weird situation and he does that thing with his hands and just thinks and then he figures it out. The thunder continues to roar loudly and I can already feel out of breath.

"It only works with you Shikamaru…" I think to myself. Katajo stands there amused with his arms crossed. I gasp and accidently swallow some water and I close my mouth again.

"Never did I think it would end this way," I think to myself and can no longer hold my breath and swallow more water. I can feel myself getting more and more fainter. I try and keep my eyes open. Suddenly something black flies by the front wall ripping it like paper and as I fall out with the gush of water it flies by again cutting through the chakra rope. I land on my knees and hands and start to cough uncontrollably and Katajo looks angry, confused and maybe even a little scared. I look around and try and figure out what it was and have a feeling it was the butterfly.

"What is going on here?" He says quietly. I slowly stand myself and look at him in the eye.

"How dare you invade my home…and destroy the only thing I had left of them. I won't allow you to live another second!" I shout and take out the sword from my pocket. I yell as I charge at him with full force and he takes out a regular sword and tries and deflects it, but the electric charge is too much and he flies back landing on his back. He quickly stands up angry.

"I will tear you limb from limb!" I shout and look over one last time at the broken tombstones and clench my sword. I lift up my sword so the tip faces the sky and lightning strikes right into the sword and I feel like I am not in control of my own body anymore. The electric current flows into my body as well and it burns, but at the same time I feel so alive.

"What is this?" I think to myself and look at Katajo getting excited.

"Such awesome power!" Katajo says with a big smile. "I want it!" He starts to do hand signs.

"Lightning style! Thunder cloud inner wave!" He shouts and a thick ring of thunderclouds and electricity form around him. He does another hand sign and bolts of lightning chakra come at me. My sword creates an electric wall and dodges it easily. Once again I'm just the person holding it not controlling it. I've only had it for about five minutes and can already feel the effects on my hand. He strikes several bolts at once and I jump in the air just moving the sword as it is sending the bolts back toward Katajo who just jumps out of the way.

"Lightning style laser circus!" He shouts and about a hundred more come out of the clouds and at me.

"Oh no…." I gasp and suddenly the sword transforms back into its original state. I try and transform it again allowing my chakra to flow into it but nothing.

"What are you doing! Why now!" I shout at it and look at the beams coming at me. I know that a regular barrier won't block them.

"At least we can be together again…" I say quietly and close my eyes. I hear a loud explosion and the ground vibrates and nothing happens to me. I open my eyes and see a huge puff of smoke.

"What just happened?" I look around and see Katajo fall down to his knees I see a figure standing in front of him in a black cloak and he slowly pulls out the sword from Katajo's chest. He coughs out a gush of blood.

"At least I was able to see its power…at least once…." He says and falls to the ground.

I fall down to my knees staring at the figure. I feel unable to move again, but it's not because of a jutsu this time.

"It's…" I start to say. The figure then puts the sword back into its case tied around its waist. He takes down his hood revealing black hair.

"Kento…?" I stutter. He slowly turns around and I feel paralyzed by fear again. He just stares at me with those calming blue eyes, yet they bring back so much pain.

"Why is he here?" I think to myself. I slowly stand up and hold the knife in my hands.

"I'd figure you'd be here…" He says quietly and looks down at the ground. "Hand over the sword."

"No! I will never give anyone the sword, especially you!" I shout. He stares at me and I know for certain he's much different than the last encounter we had.

"Seven years ago exactly today. You changed everything… and I want to know why!" I shout, he looks over and then his expression changes.

"How pathetic. After all these years you still aren't over it. And you still have the nerve to ask me why I did it….?" He says and right at that moment the rain starts to pour down hard.

"Tell me why!" I yell and he glares at me.

"I have no time to explain, the full moon is approaching…" He says quietly.

"What are you talking about?" I yell. "You think I'll just hand it over to someone like you! I hate you!" I shout and he looks at me with a blank expression.

"If you won't hand it over then I'll rip it out of your hands even if I have to cut your hands off!" He shouts and disappears in a blink of an eye. He's definitely faster then Lee.

"This is it Yamouri…..It's time to take revenge. This is where it started and this is where it will end," I tell myself. With no time to even move he kicks my back and I fly forward and roll onto my side. He appears by me again and with his hands in his pockets kicks my side and it sends me to the side. He slowly walks towards me and I use my invisible jutsu.

"What an interesting jutsu…" He says and stands still waiting for me to attack. I hesitate thinking maybe it's a trap and throw several kunai. It looks like he didn't even raise a finger and the kunai knives fall to the ground.

"How can he be that fast?" I think to myself.

"You want to know something Yamouri…" He says quietly almost as if he can see me right now.

"That day….You had no pulse. I checked you and your heart wasn't even beating…You were dead I was certain of it…Yet you're here today, how can you still be alive?" He says and I look at him in confusion. That's impossible. I think maybe he could be making it up.

"I didn't think it be this much work to wipe the Kesaki name off of this world. It's rather annoying," He adds as I clench my fist.

"Shut up! I'm tired of hearing your voice…" I add. He walks towards me and I jump away.

"So there you are," He says with a grin. Then I remember the butterfly was the last thing I saw before I woke up and stumbled into the Anbu.

"Could it be…?" I whisper to myself and Kento continues to walk towards me. "Is this really happening or is it all just a dream? Because I'm tired of dreaming."

"You're wrong Kento," I say and he stops walking and now that he is close enough I can get a good look of his face. What was once so sweet and caring is now so evil. His eyes have no emotion except maybe impatience. He has a big scar from his cheek all the way to under his chin. If I remember correctly the place I had cut him. I didn't think I had cut it so deep. He has bandages around his head to try and cover it.

"What?" He asks.

"I may be physically alive right at this moment, but I did die that day," I say. He doesn't change his expression. Maybe he no longer has emotion either. "I died along with my family. And I'm tired of living like this. All this time I've been so hollow inside. So if today is my last day….I will take you down with me!"

"Lightning style! Thunder up!" I shout and make thunder balls and throw them at him. He vanishes and I look around confused.

"Don't think I'll be so easy….Never underestimate your enemy," He whispers in my ear and I feel him punch my side and it feels like a sword and it sounds like he broke something. I let out a gasp as I spit out a gush of blood.

"Give me the sword Yamouri," He steps on my hand and reaches for it and with my free hand I stab his leg with a kunai knife and he lifts me up and punches me and I fly to the side. My hair tie breaks and my brown hair hangs all around my face.

"Your hair has grown…" Kento thinks to himself then takes out his sword and walks toward Yamouri.

~::.::.::.::.:: Meanwhile ::.::.::.::.::~

"Shikamaru!" Neji shouts. They stop and look at him. Then over at the lightning striking on a mountain.

"What is it Neji?" Shikamaru adds.

"We have company…" Neji adds. They stare up ahead and a mysterious ninja appears with a mask just like Kakashi's.

"Neji isn't that the same guy that was with…." Naruto starts and Neji nods and Lee gets into battle stance saying he will take this one.

"If he is here then that means…" Neji starts and they look over at the mountain.

"Yamouri…." Shikamaru says quietly. "Alright Lee we'll leave this up to you!"

"You are not going anywhere…" Says the mysterious ninja and they all fall to their knees.


	38. Chapter 38 Memories

~::.::.::.::.:: Flash back::.::.::.::.::~

"Stop it Kyho!" I yell as he throws another flower at my face. He lets out a laugh and I snap at him that it's not funny. He continues to laugh and I look over and see that same boy as before walk into woods. I've seen him many times before and Kyho says all he does is steal from shops and beat up kids.

"Kyho it's that boy again…" I say and point towards him. Kyho makes an angry face and throws a stick down onto the ground.

"Stay away from him Yamouri…. He's just a troublemaker," Kyho snaps. "He gives me a weird feeling."

"Yeah and you're a jerkface and I still talk to you..." I think to myself.

"Kyho that's not very nice to say…What if he's lonely…Maybe he just needs a friend," I add. Kyho rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. Then threatens he will tell mom. I make a fist and threaten to punch his face till his nose is broken and ready to fall off.

"Yamouri….promise me, you'll stay far away from him," He says I stare at him and nod my head no and he makes a fist and punches the wall.

"Have fun playing with yourself Brother…" I add and walk off towards the bread shop. Because no one can tell me what to do that's just how I've always thought of things, I only listen to my parents because they scare me when they're angry. It wouldn't hurt to just try talking to that boy. After all the only friend I have is Kyho so maybe Kento could be a potential friend.

"Look there's that boy wannabe!" Shouts a voice. I look over and see a group of boys and some girls walking towards me. I roll my eyes and continue walking avoiding them.

"What a loser trying to fit in where she doesn't belong!" Shouts a girl. Its true most little girls my age just like to pick flowers and talk about boys, but I'd rather go play ninja with my brother and roll around in the mud.

"I don't want trouble…" I mumble continuing to walk towards the bread shop where the old man waits for me or Kyho almost every day.

'What's wrong you scared?" Shouts a boy and walks in front of me he lets out a giggle. "Are we intimidating you?"

"Just leave me alone or else!" I shout.

"Or else what? Your brother?" He smirks. "Everyone knows he's just as weak as you, there's no point in him being in the academy!"

"Shut your face you have no right to offend my brother! You're just jealous because you can't do jutsus!" I yell and his eyes widen.

"What did you just say you stupid little brat!" He yells and grabs a hold of my short brown hair and yanks it back.

"That's enough!" His friends says and the boy continues to pull back my hair.

"Stop!" I cry and then I hear a punch sound and see Kento standing in front of me offering me his hand.

"You…?" I say quietly. I look behind him and the boy bothering me is beaten up and his friends charge at Kento and he doesn't even turn around and pushes them back. Terrified they pick up the beaten boy and run off with their mob.

"Are you ok?" Kento asks. I take his hand and smile.

"Yeah….where did you come from?" I ask he just has a blank expression.

"It doesn't matter…." He says and starts to walk off into the forest again with his hands in his pockets.

"Wait!" I call after him but he doesn't turn around instead he keeps on walking and I stare at his back. I can't help but wonder what is up with this boy and why I want to get to know him so bad. I feel like he could use a friend. I run after him calling his name and he turns around shocked that I know it.

"I didn't tell you my name…?" He mumbles I blush from embarrassment and explain that my brother had talked about him. He gives me a puzzled look and I nod. He starts to walk off again and I follow him. He turns around confused and asks why I'm following him. I ask him if he wants to play in this fort I created with my brother. He hesitates and shakes his head no and continues to walk on ahead I start to beg and he just keeps that blank expression.

"Please!" I shout at the top of my lungs and birds fly away from the tree tops. Probably scared of my shouting. I then do my famous puppy eyes and it always work on that sap Kyho who says it's annoying because my eyes are so big.

"Alright only if you leave me alone afterwards!" He snaps. I smile big and take his hand and lead him there. He acts like he doesn't want to be here but then after a few minutes he plays along. After a day of playing he says it was nice, but he doesn't have time to play again. I give him a sad look and he walks away. I worry that I'll never see him again, but at the same time I have a feeling he will be back for sure.

~::.::.::.::.:: The next morning::.::.::.::.::~

"He's not going to come…" I say sadly while sitting in the fort all alone. "Well at least I tried." I hear footsteps and peak outside and see him walking towards the fort.

"Kento!" I shout and step outside. I put on a huge smile on my face and I wave at him. He smiles shyly and says he is free today. I ask him if he wants to go for a walk and he nods. I lead him towards this trail Kyho and I walk on all the time it leads up to a hill. On the way I point out some strange looking mushrooms and pick one and put it up to my lips ready to eat. He rips it out of my hands with a funny look on his face.

"Don't eat those! They'll make you go crazy!" Kento snaps. He drops it and steps on it explaining that they make you hallucinate. I laugh at him and we continue to walk on towards the hill.

"What a strange girl…" Kento thinks to himself and Yamouri skips on ahead with her short brown hair swaying side to side.

~::.::.::.::.:: End of Flashback ::.::.::.::.::~

"It's time to finish this," Kento says and raises his sword. I slowly stand up and take out the knife.

"Please help me!" I think to myself and raise it and it transforms yet again. He charges at me and a bolt of lightning strikes behind him. He looks back and then forward and starts to do hand signs.

"Lightning style, four pillar trap," He mumbles and four giant pillars arise from the ground and around me. I see a lightning charge at each pillar waiting to shoot. I slash my sword and then the four walls collapse. I stare in shock at the sword and try and focus on the battle.

Kento stands there annoyed and then he grins. He appears behind me and attempts to kick me and my sword blocks it sending and electric current through his body he jumps back and then does it again. He charges at me with his regular sword and our two swords collide. He tells me to hand the sword over and I push harder and he jumps back.

"Don't make this get messy…" He adds.

"Lightning style, destructive barrier formation!" I shout and a box shaped barrier forms around him and I do my last hand sign and it explodes with him inside. A big puff of smoke arises and I wait there still with my sword ready. Knowing he must have escaped.

"No way could it be that easy," I tell myself. I scan the area carefully and all I can hear is thunder and the rain falling.

"Come out and show yourself!" I shout and then I jump up to get a better look. The smoke clears and I see Kento's cloak on the floor.

"Did it work?" I say softly and jump down and slowly walk to it.

"Earth style, bedrock coffin…" I hear him say behind me and quickly turn around and see multiple sections of rock move towards me. My sword creates a shield again and more rocks come at me. I jump away and a rock flings at me slamming and pinning me into a bigger rock. I cough out some blood and see Kento walking towards me. I let out a frustrated yell and the rock falls to the ground and I fall on my knees and start panting.

"For the last time Yamouri, Give me the damn sword!" He shouts.

"Never!" I yell I look up and can see the moon starting to appear from behind a cloud. With all the thunder clouds and lightning shooting through the sky it's hard to notice. I remember him saying something about a full moon I look down at my sword and then Kento stops walking.

"You haven't changed at all…" He mumbles. I look up at him and notice his ninja outfit now that his cloak is removed. I still can't figure out what village he is from, but I see no sign of a head band. I stand up and stare at him.

"I want answers," I add. He shakes his head and then I look at the sky and about a million spears are coming down at me.

"You!" I shout and one stabs me in the shoulder before I can even make my barrier. I quickly form a box around me then slowly rip it out of my shoulder as I grind my teeth and look up at him.

"Is that the only jutsu you can use? You don't have a very big variety," He says with a smile and I just continue glaring at him.

"What about you! I 'd figure you'd be a lot stronger…" I say and his expression becomes angry.

"I have got all the power I desire….except for that sword. The Kesaki Rairyukami. The lightning/thunder dragon god," He says and my eyes widen at the name and I look down at it. I always wanted to know the name and Kento knew it all along.

"On a night like this it's especially powerful, but you haven't activated it yet. Either you just can't control that sword…Or you dwell in the past and despite everything you can't find it in yourself to kill me," Kento adds.

"How does he know the name…?" I whisper to myself.

"On a night of a full moon it awakens and the user can defeat a whole nation with one swipe," He continues. I gasp and he raises his eyebrow just realizing I know nothing about it.

"How pathetic Yamouri….When are you going to realize you can never surpass me and you will never kill me!" He yells and does hand signs again.

"Lightning style, emotion wave!" I see his hands full of lightning chakra and he slams it hard into the ground the ground then rises up with the current running through it and coming fast towards me. The sword makes a weird sound and moves my hand and I slash the ground sending almost the exact same thing towards Kento's. The two collide and a bright beam of light blinds us and shoots towards the sky. A big explosion occurs sending pieces of rock everywhere and we both fly back. I nearly fall off the cliff and grab on to the edge as the ground shakes.

"Aahh!" I yell while trying to get back on, but my hand is slipping. I yell in frustration and hear footsteps coming. I struggle to lift up my body ignoring the pain all over and my shoulder drips blood all down my arm. I moan in pain and then finally stand up and see Kento charging at me again.

"No more!" I yell and slash the sword and it sends spikes of lightning towards him like that one time I was trying to train with it and had thrown it to the ground. It had sent me the same thing and pinned me to a tree. He disappears and I look around quickly and see him standing on top of an old building.

"You've left me no choice…Yamouri…" He thinks to himself and removes his shirt revealing his chest.

"What is he doing?" I think to myself. His eyes close and then I see marks slowly appear all over his body.

"Those are like Sasuke's! Could it be…?" I start to say and he yells and then his skin turns almost black and his chest takes form of a scorpion's abdomen and another set of arms pop out and he charges at me again.

"What has happened to you!" I gasp and another lightning bolt strikes right in between us.

"This is all thanks to the power he gave me!" He shouts. "This is only the first stage! You're lucky after all this I'm still holding back!" He yells and I hold him off with my sword.

"Kento!" I shout and attempt to cut him, but he appears behind me and I block it.

"He's even faster…" I mumble and he punches me once…twice…five times in the stomach while flying up and then he kicks my face and I go straight to the ground head first. His power has increased as well.

"Who gave you that curse mark…?" I say from behind him and he turns around shocked and then looks back at the log lodged into the ground. He grins.

"Hey! I asked you a question!" I shout and then he jumps back.

"Damn it Kento! How hard is it to tell me why! Why did you betray me…the village….and…Why did you kill your own uncle?" His eyes become more vicious and another set of arms pop out.

"I was not the one who killed my uncle!" He shouts and his yell makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He comes at me with his sword again and I push him back with mine.

"What…? Then who did?" I ask. His expression goes blank again.

"I trusted you… I thought maybe…We could be friends forever…" I say quietly and bite my mouth trying not to cry but a few tears slip out.

"What happened to the Kento I knew!" I gasp.

"The Kento you once knew is long gone," He adds and with his sword comes at me yet again. I stand there still and stare at him and then he cuts me on the shoulder and a gush of blood squirts on to his face and he stumbles back. I cough up more blood and fall to my knees and it pours all down my arm and I place my hand on it and look up at him.

"Why did you let me…?" He thinks to himself.

"Why would you hesitate….?" I whisper and lock eyes with him. He hesitated… Even if it was just a second.

~::.::.::.::.:: Flash back::.::.::.::.::~

"Kento….can I ask you a question…?"I ask. He nods and I hesitate and just look at him with my big green eyes. Its dark outside and we finally made it up to the hill to look at the stars.

"Why…" I stutter. "Why don't you ever talk about your family?" He looks surprised by the question and then he looks gloomily down at his lap.

"My family…?" He starts.

"Yeah… I talk about mine all the time, but you never mention them. Do you have any siblings?" I ask. He shakes his head and looks out into the sky.

"My family is long gone, all I have is my uncle," He says with a slight smile. "My uncle raised me my like a son and I would do anything for him."

"Oh….I'm sorry…" I mumble.

"It's ok…" He says and continues to smile. I can tell though that just to think about it tears him inside and that smile is just a fake.

"Don't smile if you don't mean it…" I add. He gives me a confused look. "My mother always use to tell me and Kyho that." He looks at the ground not sure what to say. "She said smiling is only when you're happy…it shouldn't be used to cover up pain. It's like lying to yourself."

He nods and throws a rock over the hill with a blank expression.

"Do you consider me as a friend?" I ask. He stares at me and this time he gives me a genuine smile.

"Yes, I have a feeling we are going to be friends till the very end," He says and I smile big and get a warm feeling inside.

"As a friend you know you can tell me anything, right? Cause that's what friends do. They're there for each other." I add.

"Can I ask another question?" I add. He faces me again.

"Yes you can…" He mumbles.

"What happened to your family?" I ask and I can tell it hit a nerve and he clenches his fist. I tell him he doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to and he nods.

"They were killed," He whispers and a cold breeze goes by messing up his hair.

~::.::.::.::.:: End of flashback ::.::.::.::.::~

"That curse mark….I've witnessed something like it before…Who gave it to you?" I mumble while slowly raising myself. A gush of blood comes down and I stumble on to my feet. He looks at me shocked then glares.

"I don't need to tell you anything, I'm running out of time now hold still!" He shouts while coming at me again and I cut his chest and he stumbles back as a gush of blood splatters on to his face.

"You're right… The Kento I once knew is long gone. And so is the Yamouri you once knew," I say and he stands back up and then takes battle stance.

I raise the sword again towards the sky and then a painful serge enters from my hand and all the way towards my chest. I feel a sudden burst of energy and Kento steps back ready to attack.

"This is the end!" I shout and the thunder cracks once again.


	39. Chapter 39 Out of time

"What is this jutsu…?" Naruto stutters while feeling like someone is standing behind him forcing him down.

"I can't move my body!" Sakura adds.

"Neji this is that guy that was with Kento that day…Which can only mean she's…" Naruto mumbles.

"She's fighting him as we speak," Neji finishes and lifts his head to face the enemy.

"We have to help her! If she fights him she'll…"Naruto says and clenches the dirt. "She won't win."

They turn towards the mountain as they hear a loud scream. And another lightning bolt strikes. The clouds seem restless and the rain is pouring down even harder.

"Yamouri!" Shikamaru shouts.

"I won't allow you guys to interfere," Says the ninja and takes out a knife and walks towards them.

"Uh! What is this?" He stutters and looks down at a shadow. Shikamaru jumps out of the bushes along with the others.

"Shadow possession jutsu," Shikamaru says with a grin.

"Don't underestimate us!" Naruto shouts.

"Don't underestimate me either, "He replies and puts about ten exploding tags on his chest then a big explosion occurs forcing them to take cover.

"He blew himself up!" Lee shouts.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"You must destroy her and bring me the sword…" Those words continue to go through Kento's head as he stares at Yamouri and her glowing sword.

"Aaaaah!" I shout while running at him and it sends bolts of lightning towards him. He uses a substitution and then I stand there again waiting.

"No more playing around…" He says from behind I stumble back and glance at my bleeding hand.

"Why does it do this?" I think to myself. Kento lets out a yell like he's in pain and his body transforms. Those marks wrap around his body and it sounds like bones are popping out of their place. A scorpion tail pops out and he has four sets of arms and then his hands turn into claws. He then leans over and walks just like a regular scorpion on all legs instead of his two legs.

"What has happened to you…?" I think to myself. I feel a throbbing pain in my shoulder and in my hand. Kento starts to laugh and I stare at his oddly shaped body. He opens and closes his claws and then he digs them into the ground and it creates some sort of rock slide and I stumble back and start to run as fast as I can.

"Don't run from me!" He shouts and appears in front of me and attempts to cut me in half with his claws.

I drop the sword while he digs his claws into the ground again. I let out a loud scream and fly back and he comes running at me again.

"Invisible jutsu!" I shout and then I disappear and run towards my sword but he stands over it.

"I'm running out of chakra….this battle can't go on much longer…." I think to myself and then I cough up blood again and look down at my hands.

"There you are!" Kento shouts and with his tail he aims towards me and the jutsu breaks and his tails grasps around my body.

"Aaah!" I yell and he makes me hang a few feet away from his face.

"Nice to see you again, thanks for the sword," He says and then the tail starts to squeeze me. I let yells of pain out and he just continues to squeeze harder and harder.

"You were right about it ending now, it's over for you Yamouri. You won't have to suffer anymore," He says. I open my eyes and stare into his. My arms start to go numb and then he takes out a kunai knife.

"Ken…."I stutter. He throws it right into my dangling leg. I gasp and then look down at the ground and see the puddle of blood from my shoulder and now leg continues to grow.

"I….refuse…." I stutter he gives me a confused look. "I refuse to die like this!" I shout and he starts to laugh.

"Well get over it," He snaps and the sword starts to glow.

"Come to me…" I think to myself. "Come to my aid," I mumble.

"It's useless…The Rairyukami doesn't obey someone who doesn't even know how to use it!" He shouts. The sword shoots a bolt of lightning behind him. He looks back confused and the tail loosens for a second and I shove it off and fall to the ground. I force myself up and grab the sword and make a run for it and the end of the tail smacks my side crushing my ribs even more and I fly into a tree. He starts to laugh and I hold my stomach as sharp pains shoot all throughout my body. I never imagined a body could go through so much pain like this. It hurts every time I inhale and exhale. I force myself back on to my feet.

"Alright, Rairyukami, it's time you let me control you!" I shout and I feel a burst of energy. He slowly walks towards me and I raise my sword.

"Let the thunder speak!" I shout and I can see my chakra flowing out and the sword shoots some sort of chakra out towards Kento taking form of a giant dragon.

"No way…." I gasp and Kento does hand signs.

"Ninja art, earth hound…" Kento mumbles a big lump shoots out of the ground and it takes a form of a giant dog. It charges towards the lightning dragon and they collide making the whole ground shake vigorously. I struggle to keep my balance and I feel dizzy and Kento comes charging at me with his sword. I lift mine tired of moving.

"Just let it end," I whisper. Our swords collide and we hold it like this pushing it towards it each other.

"Don't forget…." I mumble. His eyes widen. My sword breaks his into pieces and cuts off three of his arms. He lets out yells of pain and then his tail comes at me and I jump up in the air over him. I raise my sword and then wave over him and a bolt shoots down and he moves quickly.

"Don't forget you still haven't told me why!" I shout he glares at me and then he does a hand sign and green stuff starts to drip from his scorpion tail.

"What are you doing now?" I ask.

"This venom is made especially for torturing. It takes a matter of minutes and when it reaches the heart you will know what true pain is. It'll be so intense you'll want to kill yourself, I guarantee it," He explains. I throw kunai knives at him and his tail comes at me. I dodge it and then with his claw he slams me into a cliff. I cough out more blood and my whole stomach is in pain. I'm pretty sure he has broken almost all my ribs. I fall down and gasp but can hardly breathe.

"I knew you hadn't changed….Silly of me to think this would be an interesting fight," He says as he walks towards me.

~::.::.::.::.::flashback ::.::.::.::.::~

"I'm going to be one of the strongest kunoichi ever!" I shout and jump down from a tree holding a stick.

"Who are you trying to kid?" Kyho says with a laugh.

"Thanks for being so supportive…." I sigh and sit down on a log.

"Where's your stupid friend?" Kyho asks.

"He's not stupid…and he's coming later," I snap and then look at the sky. "Oh Kyho it's going to rain today."

"You know what they say about the rain…." Kyho says.

"What? What do they say?" I ask waiting for his reply. He always makes up crap to try and scare me and I'm very interested to what is it that he is going to say this time. He's good at making things up on the spot.

"It's how the heavens cry. When something horrible is about to happen, like death," He says. I stare at him for a real long time and right when the rain starts to fall Kento shows up with his stick waving at me.

"Speaking of the devil…"Kyho sighs. I stare at Kento with my mouth slightly open.

"Kyho you don't even know anything about him so if I was you I'd be quiet," I snap he glares at me and picks up his back pack and walks off.

"What's up with him?" Kento says with a confused look.

"He's just being immature," I yawn and he takes his sticks inside the fort.

~::.::.::.::.:: End of flashback ::.::.::.::.::~

The pain will only last a little longer I keep telling myself. I remember Naruto's words that he will never give up because that is his ninja way. I smile at the sky thinking maybe I won't see his annoying face again.

"I won't give up either Naruto….because that too is my nindo….my ninja way," I shout. Kento stops he does his ground jutsu again and I use a substitution. I feel a pain in my chest knowing my chakra is just about all drained out.

"This isn't good," I mumble and look out from behind a tree.

"Help me!" I shout. I imagine my dad helping me hold the sword and can hear Kento running towards me.

"Don't hide from me!" He shouts and throws spears and one goes through the tree and into my leg.

"Aaaah!" I yell at the top of my lungs. I rip it out and run towards him ignoring the pain.

"Stupid brat why won't you just die!" He yells.

"Because I haven't taken you with me yet!" I yell back. I wave the sword and he takes out a new sword and does the same. I cut his chest again and he coughs up some blood. He cuts my other shoulder and I fall back. I try and lift myself back up.

"Why are you so stubborn!" He shouts and attempts to kick my side, but my hand automatically stops it.

"I won't give up!" I snap. His tail swings towards me and cuts my stomach and I can see that green stuff all over my stomach. Some of it drips onto my eyes and I quickly rub it off. I cough up more blood and this time I know it's different.

"There, I've given you the venom Yamouri," He says. I fall back down to my knees and the sword falls out of my hands and it transform back into a knife.

"Once in your system there is no way to stop it. And after the thirty minutes of agonizing pain it will bring. It will stop your heart once and for all, "He says and stands over me looking down at my face.

"For now you can no longer move a thing in your body….and now just wait for the effects to take place," He adds. He reaches for the sword but a barrier forms around it and when he touches it, it sends and electric shock and he pulls his hand back.

"How annoying…. Looks like her father put some sort of jutsu on it," Kento thinks to himself and looks back down at Yamouri.

As each minute passes I find it harder and harder to breathe. I look at the sky and know that in just a matter of minutes I'll be reunited. Kento starts to walk off

"You've taken everything away…" I whisper Kento looks back at me. "My family, my home, my dignity, my past and my future. Because of you I can no longer trust anyone. My only reason for living became an obsession to kill you and I lost who I was in the process. I let you get in my head and not a day goes by where I don' think about it... That day haunts me even in my sleep and I've waited for this day so long. I wondered how you turned out. Despite all the hurt you have caused I had a glimpse of hope that maybe….just maybe I can find it in my heart to forgive you. But I know now that it is impossible. Because the child you once were is buried so deep inside you that he can never be found again. And yet you don't even have the decency to finish me off. Instead you walk away leaving the job unfinished again...like a coward."

"I already told you the effects will take place in minutes….I'd prefer for you to have a proper death after all. The slow agonizing way just like you liked it," He says with a grin.

"Tell me why…" I stutter. He makes a serious face and then turns away.

"You should know! You always knew…" He says.

"No I don't! I want to know why this happened what was it that destroyed you!" I gasp. He hesitates and then finally he starts to speak.

"You were right someone killed my uncle…" He starts. I gasp and stare at him.

"That day I had come back from training and found my uncles house in flames!" He shouts. "I saw a figure standing over his cut up body and when the smoke had finally cleared up I stared into his face and I knew exactly what I had to do right there and then."

"Who was it?" I try to shout he pauses and then the curse mark recedes and he appears his normal self.

"It was your father…" He says angrily.

"No you're lying! My father would never do that!" I shout and he tells me to be quiet.

"I saw it with my own eyes! The same man who killed my parents! I couldn't just let him continue to live on this earth. Not with his hands soaked in my family's blood! So I returned the favor!" He shouts and I have no idea what to say and then he tries to grab my sword again but the barrier won't allow it. He looks up at the sky as the clouds begin to part.

"Goodbye Yamouri…" He mutters and disappears. I start to sob and try and move my hands but it won't budge .

"I don't believe you!" I shout at the top of my lungs. Suddenly I feel a throbbing in my chest and my heart beat seems to be getting louder becoming the only thing I can hear. My head falls back down.

"What's going on?" I think to myself. The venom starts to spread throughout my body and it's like a pain I've never felt before. Like a million knives piercing me at once.

"Just let me die..." I beg and it feels like someone is sticking their hand into my chest. I let out yells of pain and then I bite my tongue. The stuff on my eyes that I thought I had wiped off suddenly starts to burn and my vision starts to go blurry even though my eyes are wide open.

"It burns so bad…" I mumble. My chest hurts even more now and my breathing becomes very faint. Out of nowhere my butterfly appears and then it flutters down and I feel a sharp pain in my neck.

"What are you doing…" I whisper and it flutters away into the sky.

"Yamouri!" I hear Naruto's voice call and footsteps running this direction.

"You guys came…?" I mumble.

"Yamouri!" Neji yells. I hear more footsteps and the rain finally stops. My heart beat is faint now and I smile as I stare at the rainbow that's appeared.

"After the heavens cry they sometimes send you a sign that everything will be ok," Kyho's words go through my head and I try and smile.

"How pretty…" I stutter. "It will be ok Kyho because now we can be together again," I whisper and the pain becomes unbearable and I close my eyes. I hear Shikamaru and Lee's voices and someone touches my arm.

Then I can hear Sakura say something but can't exactly make the words out and her talking becomes quieter and quieter until I can't hear anymore. I close my eyes and let myself drift away into the darkness.


	40. Chapter 40 Yamouri's Death

Thanks for reading so far! Anyways let me know what you think ^_^

* * *

Naruto and the others wait in the waiting room for Lady Tsunade to finish. When they had arrived Yamouri was already slipping away. Her body covered in cuts and bruises and she was soaked and freezing. A massive amount of blood was lost and the last thing she had mumbled was Kento.

"It's taking so long…" Naruto says while looking out the window. Everyone else sits quiet waiting for the door to open.

"I was afraid of this…" Neji says under his breath.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few hours later ::.::.::.::.::~

The door of the infirmary opens and Naruto stands up. Lady Tsunade walks out with a sad look on her face but also very frustrated.

"There's some good news…and bad news," She says quietly.

"Is she ok?" Naruto butts in. Everyone was thinking the same, but he was the most anxious.

"Well that's the thing…we don't really know. She lost a significant amount of blood and all her ribs were broken. Her entire system is failing. And to make matters worse the venom on her eyes has completely destroyed her eye sight….I did all I could, but only time can tell if she will ever get to see again," She pauses and looks at them.

"She's in a coma," Lady Tsunade adds. Naruto's eyes widen and he sits back down.

"As for the suspicion of her run away, we won't be able to clarify it until…she wakes up," Lady Tsunade adds. "If she does...that is." Thinking to herself.

"Poor Yamouri," Sakura says under breath. Neji stands up and tells Lee they should go and Lee nods and says they'll be back later after they go see what Guy-sensei is doing. They walk out of the waiting room.

"Can we see her?" Naruto says. Lady Tsunade hesitates then says only for a few minutes. Shikamaru slowly stands up and walks in after them. They see her completely bandaged and her eyes are bandaged as well. Her brown hair still hangs loosely around her head and her body is very still. The heart monitor beeps slowly. The nurse in there looks up at them and smiles slightly and walks out.

"Yamouri…" Naruto mumbles. Shikamaru just stares at her body without a word to say then looks out the window at the sunrise. Something they use to watch from their tree.

~::.::.::.::.:: meanwhile ::.::.::.::.::~

"Yamouri…" A voice echoes and I open my eyes as I'm slowly floating down. I look around and see nothing but black walls. I look and see myself wearing a long white dress.

"Where am I…?" I mumble. I continue to fall and I slowly lift up my arm and extend it out towards me to the sky which is a mix of purple and orange.

"Why am I falling?" I ask then examine my arms and my hands with no scars. I stare at them confused and look around. The last thing I remember was seeing a rainbow.

"Am I dreaming again? No this feels different then a dream…" I tell myself. A bunch of pink roses begin to fall down and all around me. In the pile is a single forget me not flower and I try and reach for it but it starts to disperse and then there is nothing of it left. I finally reach the ground and the floor is cold and hard. I slowly lift myself and look around me.

"What is this place?" I shout and my voice echoes back several times. I start to walk down a stoned path leading downwards. I notice pink rose petals lying all over the ground and I continue to walk down following the petals. At the end there is a light and I walk right into it. My head jerks back and a warm breeze passes through me, I inhale the fresh air and open my eyes and see a giant meadow of flowers and I start to run towards it.

"Oh how amazing!" I gasp.

I lie down on a pile of pink roses and look up towards the purple and white sky. I feel so peaceful here. I take a big breath and exhale and lay my head down. All I can hear is the sweet sound of birds chirping and…

"Water flowing?" I say quietly and sit up and look over and see a small river. I slowly get up and start to walk towards it. I look down at it and stare at my reflection. I stare at it for a real long time and then I slip off the edge and fall right into it. It seemed so shallow yet, I'm still sinking further and further down. I extend my arms to try and swim back up but I continue to sink down. I look around and see a bunch of fish start to swim around me I continue to sink and see I'm heading right into the darkness.

"Stop it…" I mumble and continue to struggle, I float down and try and look above the surface one more time. I close my eyes and let myself float all the way to the bottom.

When I open my eyes I find myself lying on a sandy surface. I raise myself and see my house just up ahead. I hesitate for a moment and then I continue to walk towards it. I start to run and it seems to be getting farther and farther away. I push with all my might and continue to run and there is no use. I give up and fall to my knees and stare at it. The door slightly opens and I finally take a step on the porch.

"My home," I mumble and take a step inside. It's exactly like I remember it. I take a seat on the couch and stare at the picture of Kento, Kyho, and I which sits in the mantle. I close my eyes and when I open them again the forget me not flower from before lies in my hand. I examine it and then I sniff it and walk up to the mantle.

"What are you doing here?" I hear a voice say. I turn around and see Kyho standing there giving me a confused look.

"Brother?" I say with a smile he gives me an angered look and then turns his back to me.

"Brother?" I shout and he walks out the door and I run towards him.

~::.::.::.::.::One week later::.::.::.::.::~

The nurse walks in and sees the same boy she has seen a few times in the chair by Yamouri's bed.

"Oh…excuse me visiting hours are almost over," She says. Shikamaru awakes from his nap and rubs the back of his head.

"Oh right sorry," He says the nurse smiles and starts to examine Yamouri's blood pressure.

"Oh she's so cold…" She thinks to herself and looks over at Shikamaru who looks like he hasn't slept in days.

"That boy…" She thinks to herself.

"Does it look like she's going to wake up anytime soon?" Shikamaru asks. She shrugs and says at this point it's up to her. She notices the heart beat has slowed down just a bit but other than that everything else is stable

~::.::.::.::.:: Meanwhile::.::.::.::.::~

"It's so cold here…" I say softly while waking up in a flower meadow I spit out a rose petal from my mouth and stare at the ground wondering how it got in there.

"I've been here for so long…" I add I look up at the clouds and wonder what is going on.

"Yamouri?" I hear Kyho's voice I turn around and he takes a seat by me.

"Brother…Tell me where I am," I add he gives me a funny look and says that I know I just have to think about it.

"Yamouri…I know that you think killing Kento will make things better….but it will only make the hole in your heart bigger…until the darkness will consume you," Kyho says I look at him and stand up and throw a flower at his face.

"It's too late my path has already been chosen there is no going back now!" I shout.

"You're wrong sister….you can always change your path. This path just makes you more cold and because of it you have pushed away those you should have held close, "He says.

"I can never change the way I feel Kyho. It's taking over me… it's made me so hollow inside to the point where the old Yamouri no longer exists," I add. His eyes widen and he stands up.

"That's not true sister," he adds. I turn my back to him and face the river I look down at it and when I turn around I'm facing a dark hallway. I start to walk forward and hear thunder in the background then people laughing. I see eyes start to pop out from the black walls.

"Those are Gaara's eyes," I gasp and they come at me nearly making me fall over.

"I can see the pain in your eyes…" His words echo in the background and I continue to walk on forward.

"It's impossible! How can anyone read me through my eyes…." I mumble.

"Yamouri….you're lost you just need to find your way out…" I hear a voice say. I look around and continue walking down different hallways. I'm tired of sleeping I want to wake up, I need to wake up. Because it's not over yet and I deserve a second chance to try everything all over again.

"All I ever wanted was the answers…" I mumble and find myself facing two rock paths both leading to a dark place. I suddenly remember the future teller and I grab onto my locket.

"So she was right," I whisper to myself.

"I don't know which path to take….I'm so confused!" I shout and then I stand there frozen starring at the two paths.

"One leads to the end and the other to a new beginning," I hear my brother's voice say. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"I need someone to help me. To save me… I need a second opinion!" I think to myself. I hear my brother's voice saying time is running out and if I don't hurry I will remain in the darkness for all eternity. I open my eyes and slowly start to walk down one of the paths. The stones feel ice cold and the walls seem to be moving. I feel myself get dizzy and I continue to walk down hoping that I chose the right path. I look to the wall and like a mirror it begins to shatter and shards fly all around me.

"Brother!" I shout and I dodge the shards coming at me. The temperature drops and I feel my fingers begin to go numb.

"Have I taken the wrong path?" I shout and then a strong wind blows towards me making it harder and harder to move forward.

"I can't wake up no matter how many times I've tried I can't wake up!" I shout and tears start to stream down my face.

"Brother you can't just leave me like this!" I gasp and continue to push myself forward with all my might. Each step I go more and more into the darkness and I feel out of breathe.

~::.::.::.::.:: Meanwhile::.::.::.::.::~

"It's been two weeks and she hasn't shown any progress…I think it's time to suggest to them that maybe it's best to pull the plug…" Lady Tsunade tells Shizune. They both look down sadly at her desk and then the nurse walks in and they tell her the news.

"We need to talk to her team especially," Lady Tsunade adds. The nurse nods and starts to head out.

Shikamaru and Choji start to head towards the hospital yet again. It's been two weeks that Yamouri has been in a coma and she has shown very little progress.

"I'm sure she's going to wake up soon," Choji says and Shikamaru has a blank expression. They start to walk up the stairs.

Meanwhile Sakura and Naruto are already there and Naruto eats a cookie that Sakura has brought.

"You idiot those aren't for you!" Sakura yells. They look over at her still body. Her breathing is slowing down and Sakura notices something weird with the heart monitor.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Naruto says.

"Naruto go get the nurse…" She mumbles. Naruto gives her a confused look then Sakura yells to hurry. Naruto looks over at the heart monitor slowing down and the beeping as well. He runs out of the room and Sakura walks up to Yamouri's still body.

"You can't leave like this Yamouri! I know you can hear me…. The village needs you…" She says quietly.

Shikamaru and Choji hear Naruto tell the nurse to come check up on Yamouri. Shikamaru gets a sick feeling in his stomach Choji and him follow after the nurse and Naruto.

"Her heart has stopped!" Sakura yells and has a terrified look on her face. They stare at the monitor now just a straight line.

"No!" Naruto shouts angrily. Shikamaru steps ahead and slowly walks up to her. The nurse runs up and says she has no pulse and she runs to go get another nurse and try and revive her.

~::.::.::.::.:: Meanwhile::.::.::.::.::~

I finally make it to the end of the hallway. It seems like I've been in this place for years and I just want to go home. I see a brown door and I walk up to it and its locked. I kick it trying to open it.

"Ugh! Let me through!" I shout and bang on the door. The door disappears and I fall forward and grab onto the edge. I look down and see hands reaching towards me.

"What is this!" I gasp and try and pull myself up.

"I went the wrong way…." I mumble and continue to pull myself onto the edge.

"Your spirit's been sleeping somewhere cold…" I hear a voice say. "It's out of your hands now whether you live or not!"

"No!" I yell at the top of my lungs, but it's like no one can hear me. I slip and start to fall down fast. I scream for help and see a rope and grab onto it.

"Save me…!" I think to myself. "Someone please help me."

I try and pull myself up, but the more I try the more I fall down. I look down and know that this time if I fall I can never get up again.

"I won't go!" I shout and continue to pull myself up. I get a rope burn on my hand and let out weird sounds as my hands start to drip blood. I continue to struggle and the rope finally snaps in half. I gasp and fall down and extend my arm out towards me.

"Nooo!" I yell. I stare at my hand, and it feels so hard to breathe. I can hear my heart beat slow down until it becomes so faint. I start to cry and stare at the surface.

"I'm so sorry…." I mumble as I picture everyone from the leaf village and lastly my family and even Kento. I was not able to save him from his path and I wasn't able to save myself.

Suddenly a burst of light hits me and I feel someone holding my hand. I can hear a heart monitor beeping and a nurse talking in shock. I try and open my eyes, but can't see anything.

"What…happened…?" I mumble and hear Naruto's voice asking if I'm ok.

"Yamouri…?" Shikamaru says. I recognize him as the one who is holding my hand.

"Her heart beat is back to normal and so is her blood pressure. Yamouri you are in the leaf village hospital," I hear an unfamiliar voice say.

"Your heart had stopped for about five minutes…You gave us quit a scare there," She says with a little giggle.

Shikamaru had just placed his hand on hers and her heart had started beating again.

"What is this?" I ask feeling bandages covering my eyes. The room goes quiet and then the nurse finally explains I might have lost my eye sight in the battle. I push Shikamaru's hand away and grip the bed sheets and grind my teeth.

"After all this…I'm left with nothing. What makes you think I wanted to be brought back!" I shout angrily. The nurse tells someone it's best to leave me alone and that I'm just in shock. I hear Sakura, Choji, and Naruto say good bye and walk out the door. The nurse says she is going to be right back and is going to get Lady Tsunade.

"Shikamaru…?" I say softly.

"Yeah…?" He asks.

"So you know everything?" I mumble.

"Yeah…I know," He says and I clench my fist.

"I guess I don't have to live a lie anymore," I add.


	41. Chapter 41 The Lazy Visitor

Remember there is lots more! After all there is still Shippuden ^_^. Anyways thanks for reading so far! Let me know what you think.

* * *

~::.::.::.::.:: A few days later ::.::.::.::.::~

I hear someone open the door and I just lie there hearing the footsteps coming closer to my bed. It could be visitors again or it could be the nurse either way, I could care less. Lady Tsunade had asked me if I had run away. When I had told her the real story she felt bad for assuming I had run off just like Sasuke. Don't get me wrong, I will eventually go my own way, but unlike Sasuke I don't plan to leave just like that.

"Miss, are you going to at least try and eat something? It's been three days… And you haven't eaten a thing…" The nurse says. I ignore her and lay in silence with my hand tucked under my cheek. I listen to the birds chirp outside and dogs barking down below.

"Yamouri…I know this is a very hard time for you, but you should eat to get your strength up…" She adds.

"No thank you," I say blankly. She sighs frustrated and leaves the tray by the bed and walks out of the room yet again. The bandages still cover my face as a reminder. I'm awake yet, I still feel like I'm in the dark. I don't see the point of living if I can no longer see. Without my vision I can no longer even be a shinobi. I feel the cold breeze hit my face from the open window and just let out an angry sigh. I can hear the birds chirping, but I can't see them and I wonder if I'll ever even get to see a sunrise again…or even my star.

"All this because of him…" I say bitterly. Lady Tsunade did say I had about a fifty percent chance of seeing again I just had to be patient, but honestly who has the patience for something like this?

I sit myself up and almost fall back from losing my balance. My whole body is still very weak and exhausted. I hold onto my stomach because it feels like the stitches could rip any moment and I lay back down and bit my lip to avoid crying again.

"I don't want to live like this…" I mumble. The nurse said I would probably end up staying in this room for another two weeks. I try and sit back up and slowly lift my legs off of the bed until my feet touch the floor.

"Alright…" I say quietly and slowly shift my weight to my feet while holding onto the bed. My legs shake and I fall down on my hands. I bang the floor in anger, and feel around the floor to find something to grab onto. Slowly I lift myself up and extend my arms out in front of me and take one step forward. I grip my stomach and take another step forward. My legs shake and I crunch my toes to try and keep my balances. I take a few more steps and hear someone walk by from the other side of the door. I start to follow the sound and find myself touching the door knob. Slowly I turn it and pull back the door and bump into someone and lose my balance and fall into their chest as they grab a hold of my shoulders.

"Yamouri…? What are you doing out of bed?" I hear Shikamaru's voice say. I feel light heated and start to fall onto my knees and Shikamaru puts my arm around his shoulders and slowly lifts me back on to my feet. My forehead pressed on his cheek.

"You aren't supposed to leave the bed! What were you thinking just wondering off like that?" He says a bit annoyed.

"I'm tired of being here," I snap at him angrily.

Shikamaru's expression softens as he stares her. She tightens her grip on his shoulder and he slowly leads her back to her bed. He rarely sees her with her mid length wavy brown hair out of its pony tail.

"I know you're anxious, but you have to wait…" He says calmly. The sunrise shines through the window and high lights her face and he just stares at her feeling a little nervous.

"What are you doing here? I told the nurse I didn't want any visitors," I add bitterly and face my head down at the ground since I don't exactly know where he is standing.

"Like that's going to stop all your friends," He smirks.

"Friends?" I think to myself.

"You can't keep pushing everyone away Yamouri…You need to give people a chance to…" He starts.

"No! Now people will only see me as the girl with the tragic past. They no longer will see me as Yamouri Kesaki, but the girl to pity on! That's exactly why I tried so hard to keep it a secret this long because the one thing I hate more than…" I pause. "Him… is being pitied on!" I shout and grip the bed sheets. He touches my shoulder and I move my head up.

"You'll always be the same silly Yamouri. The girl that's so stubborn and doesn't like Shino...And no one knows why…The girl who eats a lot… and loves fudge…The one who likes to be lazy at times…and makes fun of me for being lazy even though your more lazy then me…And one of my best friends, "Shikamaru says softly.

"I don't eat that much…And you are way lazier…And I don't like his gross bugs…" I mumble. He starts to laugh quietly, but I stay silent.

"There's the Yamouri everyone will always see… No one is going to judge you for your past…because it's in the past. If anything what you should be doing is focusing on getting better and pretty soon you'll be going on missions again," He adds.

"I have other things to worry about…" I think to myself. I don't say anything to his remark and then he says my name again. "What…?"

"I know you feel like you have to… you know….but look where that has gotten you. If anything you should just let it go…" He says. I grind my teeth and shove his hand off my shoulder and push him back.

"Don't pretend like you know everything! Don't even act like you know how it is… You can never imagine how it's like to lose everything! How to lose people so close to you…" I shout angrily and stand up and clench my fist.

"Just because Neji told you the truth…Don't pretend like you suddenly know everything about me," I add.

"You don't even know anything about her…" Hikaru's words sweep through Shikamaru's mind and he stares at her knowing how stupid his remark was.

"Did Hikaru know all along?" Shikamaru thinks to himself.

"You're right sorry…" Shikamaru says and stands back up. The door opens and Choji and Ino walk in with a box, flowers, and some balloons.

"Oh Yamouri you won't believe what I brought…" Choji says cheerfully.

"Do they know?" I mumble. Shikamaru stays quiet and Choji walks up to me rambling on about how delicious the thing in the box is. He asks if he should open it for me and I tell him I can open it myself. Only my eyes are broken not my hands. He hesitates and places it on my lap. I touch the top and feel around and pull the flap back. I place my hand inside and feel something soft shaped into a bar.

"It's your favorite! Fudge…" He says with a giggle and then waits nervously for her reaction.

"Oh these are from Hikaru…He bought you pink roses…" Ino says and I hear her place a vase next to me.

"Stupid Hikaru," Shikamaru thinks to himself. I sit in silence with my head tilted down. It doesn't seem the same not being able to see them.

"Thank you guys…" I say softly and close the box and place it beside me.

"She refused the fudge?" Choji thinks to himself. "Oh man this is serious…."

"Yamouri…?" Ino says walking towards the bed. Shikamaru and Choji stare at her in the awkward silence of the room.

"I appreciate you guys coming…really…but I think I'm going to sleep," I mumble.

"Oh alright if you're sure…" Choji says and Ino and him excuse themselves and walk out of the room looking at Shikamaru.

"She's making Shikamaru be emo too…" Ino thinks to herself and closes the door. I lay my head down on the pillow and tuck my hands under my cheek and lay in silence.

"Well I guess I'll come by later…" Shikamaru says. "But you know you don't have to live like this."

"Don't try and fix me…I'm not broken," I say softly. He scratches the back of his head and walks out of the room without another word closing the door behind. He flinches realizing someone standing by the door.

"It's silly to tell her to get over it Shikamaru… you know very well it's not something to just shove away like that," Hikaru says standing by the door with his arms crossed with a grin on his face.

"I told you, you didn't know anything about her…Someone like her only has one thing in mind. And that is too kill. She thinks it's the only way to comfort her and to repair the damage. You think it's going to be that simple to just walk away from it all? You'll only push her more away with such stupid ideas."

"How long have you known?" Shikamaru asks starring at him angrily and annoyed by his ease dropping.

"Longer than you…And I know she's too far into it. Just like Sasuke…there's no changing her mind…She'll figure it out on her own later, the only thing you can do, is stand by her no matter what decision she makes…after all you do like her right? If you act like that she'll start to hate you as well," Hikaru says.

Shikamaru doesn't say anything and puts his hands in his pockets and walks down the hallway without a word and with a blank expression.

"That's what I thought…. Oh how the mighty have fallen," Hikaru says quietly with a grin.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few days later ::.::.::.::.::~

The medication they've put me on doesn't let me have dreams…or at least I don't remember them which is good. Regardless I found it hard to get a wince of sleep. Too much thoughts going on in my head and at this point I just want to crawl into a hole rolled into a ball. All I do is lie here and the nurse just gets on my case for not eating as much as I should. Shikamaru visits just about every day and so does Lee, and Neji only once. What else would you expect from someone who doesn't show very much emotion.

"I want to go outside…" I say softly and sit up in my bed. I touch my face and notice a new scar on my face and then touch the bandages wrapped around my eyes.

"I want to see again…" I mumble and start to unwrap them slowly. I want to see my reflection one more time… I throw the bandages on the floor and my eyes are still closed shut.

"Alright Yamouri…on the count of three…" I whisper. "One…. Two…Three…." I say and then slowly flutter them open.

"It's so blurry…" I mutter and push the vase Ino had left on the stand, onto the floor and hear the glass scatter. I look down at the ground and can't even make a single outline of an object or anything.

"Nothing…how silly of me hoping…" I say quietly and sulk.

"It wasn't silly…" I hear Shikamaru's voice say. I look to the right and can't even make the colors of his outfit.

"I'm over here…" He says and I turn the other way and only see a green blob.

"Oh Shikamaru is a blob now…" I think to myself.

"You again…" I sigh and shrug my shoulders continuing to sulk.

"Well fine then I guess I won't tell you the good news…" Shikamaru says and I hear him start to walk off.

"Wait! Shikamaru!" I shout and nearly fall out of the bed he rushes to my bed side and holds me up.

"Well what's the good news?" I stutter while leaning away from him.

"Oh well you didn't want me here sooo I guess I won't tell you…" He teases and I grip his arm hard and he makes a funny sound and steps back.

"Fine…" He sighs. "Lady Tsunade found a jutsu that could possibly improve your vision dramatically, but it has some risks…" He says.

"You mean she can fix me?" I shout but he says not to get my hopes up. "What are the risks?"

"Well…it could repair it or it could damage it even more…it's like gambling…." He says and puts his hands in his pockets. This was exactly what happened to Lee with his injuries after Gaara and him fought.

"Gaara…" I think to myself.

"I don't care…if there's a chance to get better then let it be done," I add. He steps back and puts his hands in his pockets.

"Stubborn as usual…" He mutters. I threaten to throw him outside the window and he sighs frustrated that I sound like his mom.

"Yeah well you don't exactly have to hang around me…" I say rather annoyed and he doesn't say anything but scratches the back of his head. Something he does when he's nervous.

"There's more news…" He says nervously.

"What is it?" I anxiously wait for his answer but he stays quiet. "Shikamaru!"

"Well Lady Tsunade has to get the things prepared so she can't perform it until about two weeks from now…" I throw my pillow across the room and he flinches.

"Damn it…" I say quietly after I've calmed myself down. "I have to stay like this for another two weeks."

"Um…also the nurse said maybe tomorrow if you're feeling good enough I can take you outside to get some fresh air and go for walk… but if you don't feel like it…." He says in his lazy attitude.

"Of course I want to go outside…" I emphasized. He chuckles and says he'll see me later and then puts a box of fudge on my lap and says it'll hurt Choji's feelings if I don't stuff my face.

"Only for Choji…" I mumble and take a piece and shove it in my mouth and the taste of it makes my mouth tingle and I take another piece. Shikamaru smiles at Yamouri's sudden burst of energy and can tell that everything could turn out ok as long as she can learn to trust again. It'll take a lot of effort, but if he and not only him, tries hard enough they can slowly start to mend her heart and make her feel whole again.


	42. Chapter 42 Silence

"Yamouri you have a visitor…" The nurse says sweetly as she opens the door and I hear her carry a tray and place it on my bed stand.

"Oh… Alright," I say quietly and fidget with my hands.

"How are you doing Yamouri?" I hear Lee's voice ask. A smile forms on my face at that bushy brow's voice.

"Eh," I sulk and he places a box on my lap and says it's my favorite.

"Fudge again…?" I say blankly and he laughs nervously and I smile slightly. He then adds he's glad to see me being myself which makes me frown again.

"Where's Neji?" I turn my head towards the direction I hear Lee's voice from. He then explains he's on a mission. I let out a frustrated sigh. If I wasn't stuck in here I'd be out going on missions too.

"I understand how frustrating it is to lie here not being able to do a thing," Lee walks to the other side of my bed. "Remember how anxious I was to get better? Well now you have to go through it and you see it turned out all better in the 's all about the power of youth!"He shouts getting excited.

"You're right Lee," I say calmly he tells me he's giving me a thumbs up and I nod and he says he will be back later because Guy-sensei is waiting for him. "See you later Lee."

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright Yamouri do you need help getting dressed for your walk?" The nurse asks. I get angry and tell her I'm still a human being and my hands are in good condition. She apologizes and leaves me alone. I feel around for my clothes and within minutes I'm finally dressed. A task I thought would be much harder now. The door opens and I turn around guessing its Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru…?" I stand still waiting for his response but the room stays quiet. I get a weird feeling and can hear someone breathing. I feel a shiver start from the back of my neck all the way down to my legs and feel goose bumps all over my arms.

"Hello?" I stutter and once again no response. "What the hell…" I say under my breath and the door closes with footsteps following after it. It stays quiet and I try and contemplate who that could have been. I sit back down on the side of the bed waiting for the door to open again. I've been waiting anxiously to leave this room and go for some fresh air. I suddenly have a feeling that Shikamaru could be home taking a nap or something or even more annoying he forgot. I clench my fist and tear the cover off of my pillow.

"Stupid! Lazy no good son of…!" I shout and hear the door open again. I put down the pillow embarrassed to be walked in on.

"What were you going to say huh?" I hear Shikamaru's voice say. I can feel my face turn hot and turn my back to the direction the voice is coming from.

"Well it's about time!" I shout. He sighs tiredly and says there are rules to go over such as no running off. Acting all of a sudden like my mother. I stay silent and he says he's just trying to lighten the mood and I continue to stay silent.

"Your shirt is on backwards…" He says with a smirk and I clench my fist. "Like I care, at least it's on."

"Alright let's go… Oh and here," He says and puts a cane in my hand. Just like the elders use to get around. Oh I never thought I would feel eighty years old as a 12 year old. I throw it on the ground without a word and Shikamaru puts it back in my hand.

"It's your way to get around Yamouri," He stays annoyed. I throw it back down and tell him I refuse to use it and he sighs again this time with a bit of anger.

"Women…" He says under his breath agitated. He takes me by the arm and says we should hurry before he changes his mind. He carries the cane in his other hand. Once we leave the room I get shaky from not being able to walk around in over a week. We make it to the stairs and Shikamaru says we'll go down one step at a time. I ignore him and grab onto the rail and take two steps down. He gasps and then on the last one I fall forward and Shikamaru grabs my arm and I fall towards him.

"I said one step for a reason," He mumbles. I sigh frustrated as well and try and open my eyes and still can't see a thing only smudges of color. A nurse comes up to us and tells Shikamaru he as to sign something and I wait there silent.

"Alright try and have fun Yamouri," She says sweetly and if I could I would roll my eyes at her.

"Alright are you ready…?" He asks and explains we are at the door and about to step out.

"I guess…" I mumble and he says to stand here while he holds the door.

"Alright you can walk forward…" He says. I feel the rush of the breeze as it hits my face and I take a big breath. The chirping of those birds are much louder out here. A slight smile forms on my face and I feel calm.

"I forgot how warm it is outside…" I mumble. He comes up and tells me to hold still and gently pushes back my bangs which cover my eye lids.

"What are you doing…?" I say weirded out. He puts a pair of sunglasses on my face and says it might help me feel comfortable and avoid people from starring and also to protect my eyes. I touch them suddenly feeling like a female Shino and shiver at the thought.

"Uh…are you ok?" He says and I nod and he takes my arm gently.

"Alright…the nurse said we can't travel that far off, and I don't feel like walking around all day anyways," He says.

"Wow…" I say aggravated by his laziness. At least things have gotten back to normal sort of. I mean I'd rather him being this lazy guy instead of bringing up his knew knowledge of me. I hope he doesn't start to ask questions because even if I can't see I will just swing my arms aimlessly until I smack him.

"Don't worry I'll take you on another walk, and you only have a little while longer till you can finally leave the hospital…" He adds.

"I know I'm counting down the days…" I say softly. He looks at her sadly and then smiles glad to see she has other things on her mind. Though he has to stop the urges of asking questions. Because he knows if he asks those questions he can't stop thinking about, it'll aggravate her. He thinks back to his conversation with Hikaru and knows that something weird is going on and can't help but think Hikaru Kato could be hiding something. He never did like that boy.

I can hear people talking and it just seems so weird not to see any faces or even know which part of town I'm in. All I see is darkness and honestly that's how I feel on the inside. Empty.

"Oh…Lady Tsunade had some questions to ask you, but decided to wait until you were better. Just thought I'd let you know…" Shikamaru adds. I know that nosy woman is just going to interrogate me about everything that happened. I get flashbacks from the fight and stop walking. Shikamaru looks at her puzzled and asks if there is something wrong.

~::.::.::.::.:: Flashback ::.::.::.::.::~

"You were right someone killed my uncle…" He said.

"That day I had come back from training and found my uncle's house in flames! I saw a figure standing over his cut up body and when the smoke had finally cleared up I stared into his face and I knew exactly what I had to do right there and then."

"Who was it!" I shouted. He paused and then the curse mark receded and he appeared his normal self.

"It was your father…" He said angrily.

"No you're lying! My father would never do that!" I shouted.

"I saw it with my own eyes! The same man who killed my parents! I couldn't just let him continue to live on this earth. Not with his hands soaked in my family's blood! So I returned the favor!" He shouted.

"Goodbye Yamouri…" Was the last thing he said.

"I don't believe you!" I shouted after him but he was already gone.

~::.::.::.::.:: End of flashback ::.::.::.::.::~

"He ruined everything!" I think to myself and can feel my blood start to boil. "Look what he did to me! He thinks he finished me of well just wait till I can see again."

"And I know...my father would never..." I think to myself and Shikamaru interrupts my thinking.

"Yamouri?" Shikamaru nudges me and I slap his hand away.

"I want to go back now," I snap at him. He looks at her confused and just says that he was going to bring her by some of her friends.

"No I'd rather stay inside…I suddenly don't feel so good…" I add. He continues to convince me to stay out a little longer and I tell him fine. We take a few steps forward and I lose my balance and he catches me again. He leads me to an alley and tells me to use the cane.

"Uh no, I'm not going to use the cane Shikamaru!" I shout he puts it in my hand and I throw it on the ground.

"Yamouri take it!" He says (with a sweat drop on the back of his head).

"Shikamaru I don't want to!" I yell and I fall against the wall he tries to put it in my hand saying I will end up bumping into something and hurting myself even more and end up being in the hospital even longer.

"I don't want to!" I yell. Hikaru walks by and sees the scene and runs over to them.

"Shikamaru get off of her! She said she doesn't want to!" He yells. "Never did I think you would finally snap and force yourself on her. You rapist."

"Hikaru I was…" He starts.

"Don't say another word shadow boy!" He yells and takes my arm.

"What kind of stuff does he think about?" I think to ymself.

"Are you alright Yamouri?" He says softly.

"Um…" I mumble at the awkwardness of the situation and Hikaru starts to tell Shikamaru that he is just dirt.

"I was making her take this cane…" He says aggravated.

"Oh I bet you were!" He snaps.

"Don't be stupid!" Shikamaru snaps back.

"Silence! You animal," He snaps and I bite my lip trying not to laugh. But it doesn't work and I burst out laughing and fall to my knees.

"Yamouri…?" Hikaru says. I fall on my back and continue to laugh until my sides ache and then Hikaru helps me back up. I regain my composure and explain to Hikaru the situation and Shikamaru still offended tells Hikaru he needs help.

"Well Yamouri I think you still look amazing…" Hikaru says softly and whispers in my ear if Shikamaru ever tries to touch me to call out his name.

"What the…" I think to myself and tell Hikaru to calm down.

"Well why don't I take you for a walk?" He takes my arm and starts to lead me off somewhere and I can hear Shikamaru walk behind us.

"Oh maybe if we stay quiet he'll follow someone else…"Hikaru whispers. How annoying…Just when I feel stressed out enough this boy has to show up and make things even tenser.

"So how's it all going Yami?" Hikaru asks. I shrug my shoulders and he starts to talk about what he has been up to while I've been away.

"So when does Lady Tsunade perform that medical jutsu?" He adds snapping me out of my zoning out.

"Oh…In a week," I add. He starts to babble on about how I'm going to be ok and not to worry. I attempt a smile so he doesn't feel bad and he continues to talk. I sigh bored out of my mind hoping we bump into someone.

"Hikaru, it's time for her to get back now…" Shikamaru interrupts and takes my arm.

"Aw why not a little longer…" Hikaru says and takes my other arm. Shikamaru pulls me his way and Hikaru pulls me his way.

"Don't you like being outside instead of being cooped up in that room?" Hikaru adds.

"Yeah…but..." I mumble and Shikamaru tells Hikaru it's his job to escort me. Hikaru pulls harder and I grit my teeth at the slight pain from the stitches on my shoulder. He finally let's go and I fall on Shikamaru.

"Fine then," He snaps and walks off.

"Ugh what's his problem…" Shikamaru says angrily and helps me back on my feet. I stay quiet and rub my shoulder.

"Let's get you back now," He says calmly and takes my arm again. He adds that everyone else is out on missions and he's going to have to go on one soon. I sigh knowing while everyone else is out I will be closed up in my room.

"It'll get better Yamouri," He adds and puts his hand on my back.

~::.::.::.::.:: A week later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Well everything is all set for the procedure but I'm missing a special ingredient and I've looked everywhere and can't seem to find it," Lady Tsunade says with frustration and slams her fist on her desk. Shizune gets a little scared and steps back. Lady Tsunade shows her a picture of a rare mushroom.

"Oh how weird…" He adds.

"Oh you mean this?" The nurse adds holding up the exact same mushroom. "I found it in Yamouri Kesaki's pocket." They all give her a funny look for something so random to be found in there.

"What was it doing there?" Shizune adds in a funny tone. The nurse shrugs and Lady Tsunade takes it from her hand.

"Well then let's get everything ready to go!" Lady Tsunade orders and the nurse heads out.

…..

"Alright Yamouri, we are going to put you to sleep..." The nurse says. While arriving into my room and I hear her open a drawer.

"Sleep?" I ask troubled. I don't want to have a dream but I guess there is no avoiding it.

"Oh may I ask what a mushroom was doing in your pocket?" The nurse adds. I get nervous and tell her I don't know what she is talking about. She smiles saying they make you hallucinate kind of like getting high. I act like I don't know what she is talking about and she says that it is going to be needed in the process.

I fidget with my hands knowing this is my final shot. If this doesn't work I'll lose my eye sight forever. I clench my fist from the idea, and for the first time in awhile I feel scared.

"Alright, Miss can you please lay you're head down," She says and I hear other people enter the room. I feel myself getting drowsy and continue to fidget with my fingers.

"Sweet dreams," I hear Kento's voice whisper and I grip the bed sheets and fall to sleep against my will.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few hours later ::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright all finished…I hope it worked," Lady Tsunade thinks to herself and looks at Yamouri's still body. She has definitely come a long way from being in a coma to hopefully repairing her eye sight.

"And now we wait…" She tells the nurses and they nod returning her back to her original room.

…

I finally wake up from the nightmare only to find my face bandaged again. I touch my face and hear the nurse walk in with a cart.

"Where's Kento? Was I imagining it?" I think to myself.

"In a few days we will remove the bandages and see how everything looks," She says kindly and places a tray at the foot of my bed.

"Yamouri?" She asks noticing the silence of the room.

"I want more than anything….To see again," I stutter and she looks at her shocked and worried.


	43. Chapter 43 The Promising Offer

Christmas break is coming to an end...Sigh... so that means I might start to update slowly, just a heads up. Depending on the school work that is. Anyways let me know what you think so far, so review? ^_^

* * *

It's been three days since the procedure was done. I've had really annoying headaches as a side effect and have barely ate a thing in the past month. I'm trying to return to my normal life as in how I act around my friends. Shikamaru knows I'm trying, but I think he can tell it's just another act. Shikamaru is gone on a mission right now and I'm tired of being in this room. Lady Tsunade had told me when I first had gotten here I had little venom in my system. I think I finally understand the purpose of the butterfly. I have my reasons to believe it had somehow drawn out some of the venom when it injected my neck. I don't exactly know the details.

"So no walk today," I whisper softly and shift myself on the bed to a more comfortable position. I touch the bandages covering my eyes and sigh.

"Yamouri…! It's time for a checkup," I hear Lady Tsunade call and then the sound of her heels get louder and louder until she gently touches my shoulder. I sit up and place my hands on my lap and I hear Shizune talking to the nurse by the door.

"Alright, let's see if you're eye sight has improved," She says and starts to unwrap the bandages. I wait anxiously and have a sick knot in my stomach while fiddling with my hands. After a few minutes all the bandages are removed and my eyes remaine shut.

"Alright Yamouri, it's probably going to hurt a little, but I want you to open your eyes," She says. I hesitate and keep them closed. Lady Tsunade and Shizune and the other nurse wait patiently. I slowly flutter them open.

"Well?" She asks. I look down at my lap and can make the outline of my hands, but everything is still very blurry. My right eye isn't as much and I can sort of make out Lady Tsunade's face, but it's still not good enough. I explain how it looks to her and she sighs frustrated and smiles saying at least there is progress. Lady Tsunade orders the nurse to bandage only my left eye and for my right eye to stay like this so it has time to adjust since it has made way more of an improvement than the other.

"We'll check up on you in about a week…by then your vision should be almost like it was before the incident," She says calmly and then excuses herself and tells the nurse I can't leave the room.

"What a waste," I think to myself and feel ready to punch something.

"Don't worry, you have lots of time to heal, your eye sight will slowly adjust and before you know it, you'll be back to your normal life," The nurse says and then tells me I can't leave the room and she leaves with a basket in hand.

I keep my eye wide open trying to focus, but nothing. I dig my fingers into my pillow and then sink my face into it. Frustrated by everything. Staying in this room doesn't help much either. I slowly sit up and slip out from under the covers and my foot touches the cold floor I grab the stupid cane Shikamaru insisted I use on the stand by my bed. I stumble off the edge and start to walk forward slowly just like the last time. Determined to get out. I open the door knob and wait for a minute to hear anything but the hallway is dead silent. I step out of the door and feel around for the wall and then following the railing they've placed for people in wheel chairs I slowly make my way to the stairs.

"Really he said that?" I hear a nurse say followed by some laughter that could relate to a hyena. I stop and hope they aren't coming this way but the talking gets fainter. My stomach drops and I touch the railing on the stairs. I look down at the steps and can only make out black smudges with lines.

"Alright one step at a time," I whisper softly and begin to walk down. Before I know it I'm down the stairs and walking towards the door. I guess the nurse at the desk just wasn't there or just didn't notice me walk by. I push the door open and feel the breeze hit my face once again. I smile at my accomplishment and then with the cane as a guide I start to walk on ahead. Since I've been on this route a few times already I memorized where to go.

~::.::.::.::.:: A few minutes later::.::.::.::.::~

"Tag! You're it!" I hear a kid scream as they run by. I look after them and then down at the ground. I've finally made it to the tree. I step forward and place my hand on the tree trunk and then I lean against it and take a deep breath just realizing it's going to be hard getting back to the hospital. The wind picks up and the leafs start to rustle in the wind and I feel some fall on top of my head. Then I hear the squirrels' playing around from above.

"How pathetic she's all alone," A woman from the bushes thinks to herself as she watches Yamouri drop her cane and bends over to pick it back up. "Well then I guess it'll just make things even more interesting," She says with a smirk. She jumps up into a tree and looks down below.

"What was that?" I think to myself and try and look around. I get a weird feeling like someone is watching me and grip the cane harder.

"Could it be that Anbu? But why if I can't even see…?" I say quietly and stay still to hear something again. I hear rustling in the trees and hear several kunai knives come flying at me. A sound I've grown very familiar with all the training with Neji.

"Oh no!" I gasp and fall down on my butt with my arms covering my face. Another few kunai knives fly from the side making them all fall down to the ground. I see Shikamaru standing in front of me with a knife in his hand.

"Shikamaru…?" I stutter. Looking up at him as my vision finally starts to clear. I see a woman with red hair in a long braid and blue eyes walk out of the bushes.

"What were you thinking wondering off like that by yourself!" Shikamaru says with anger and worry in his voice. I stand back up on my feet.

"I thought you were on a mission," I add blankly. He explains they got back just a few minutes ago and the nurse said I disappeared. He knew I'd come to this place.

"My, I hadn't realized you had a little boyfriend around," She says with a laugh. "My how handsome." I pick up a knife and throw it at her and she catches it in her hand and smiles big.

"Jealous much?" She says softly and then winks. Shikamaru looks back at me confused and I snap at him that she attacked me and he slaps his forehead.

"What do you want?" Shikamaru asks strictly. I stare at her as my vision starts to blur again, but I don't recall ever seeing this girl before in my life. I pick up another kunai knife from the ground and have it in hand. I definitely hate this feeling of being unable to defend myself. I utterly hate the feeling of being so weak. The woman jumps behind us and throws more kunai knives towards me.

"Move out of the way boy I need to have a word with your girlfriend!" She shouts and throws even more. Shikamaru moves in front of me and throws his own to make hers fall to the ground.

"Yamouri just stay back," He says in his serious tone.

"Relax! I just want to have a little fun Kesaki girl! Lightning style, tornado lash!" She shouts and the ground starts to shake. I lose my balance and put my hand on Shikamaru's shoulder.

"Damn it…if only I could see!" I shout angrily. Shikamaru explains he has this and tells me to go hide. I crunch my teeth at the idea and he tells me again.

"Shikamaru!" I gasp as the tornado sends out a whip like thing of lightning chakra and slams him into a tree all the way on the other side of the field. The woman turns to me and licks her lip.

"Your turn girly," She says in a whisper.

"Lightning style, lightning destruction!" I shout and slam my fists into the ground. But suddenly an intense pain shoots through my chest rising from my hands. I fall to my side and notice the jutsu didn't even work.

"What is this!" I gasp grabbing onto my shoulder. The jutsu had been a fail and it hurt me. I see her walking towards me and then she stops.

"What is this!" She shouts aggravated and looks down at her shadow and then over at Shikamaru who walks out of the bushes with a big grin. My muscles begin to tense up and I bite down to avoid letting sounds out. Shikamaru runs to my side.

"What did you do to her?" He yells and the woman just laughs unable to move by his shadow possession jutsu.

"I didn't do a thing, that weakling obviously must have done some internal damage to herself," She says blankly. My eyes widen at her words and I slowly start to stand myself up. Shikamaru offers to help, but I push his hand away and focus my good on eye on the woman.

"What is exactly is your purpose here," I say bitterly. This adds to her amusement and she smiles even bigger.

"That's a secret," She smirks and a kunai knife flies from the bushes and into Shikamaru's shoulder. He stumbles back at the shock breaking the jutsu and the woman disappears. I walk over to him and he looks at my eye.

"So you can see again?" He adds blankly. I nod and explain it comes and goes but it's not exactly clear. He smirks and I see the blood running down his hand from his shoulder wound.

"We should get you to the hospital," I add placing my hand on his shoulder. He just smirks and says he's going to be fine and I smack the back of his head for trying to be a big shot. He glares at me (with a sweat drop on the back of his head).

"Where'd that woman go?" I add looking around and then more kunai knives come shooting out towards us. With no time to move Shikamaru pushes me out of the way and lands on top of me as the kunai knives stab the tree that was behind us.

"Shika!" I gasp noticing he's been hit twice more. I see the lady jump down and run towards us. We both get up and Shikamaru attempts his shadow jutsu again and the lady starts to do hand signs.

"Takami that's enough!" Another voice shouts from the bushes as he steps out. I look over at him and freeze realizing right away who he is.

"I'm sorry for Takami's rudeness….she's just not very patient," He explains walking towards her.

"My name is Baku Shinji and this is Takami Makoto," He says while pointing to her. I continue to stare without saying a word and Shikamaru asks if I know these people.

"You're the guy from the grass village," I mumble remembering him staring at me. The one mission that I could never forget because Hikaru and Shikamaru had made it impossible.

"You're correct. And you are the last of the Kesaki," He adds now looking at me seriously. "Well at least that's what you think," He thinks to himself and examines her.

"Takami, are you stupid? Isn't it obvious she can't see very well," He says while pointing at my face. I reach up and touch the bandages that remain covering my left eye and I glare at them. Then with my good eye examine this strange man closely. He looks to be in his 40's or so and the girl about 17. The girl looks over at us with her hand on her hips and a nasty glare.

"I apologize for her actions, she wanted to test you, but I guess she wasn't able to determine your delicate situation," He adds while walking towards us.

"What do you want!" I snap annoyed by the whole situation. Shikamaru looks at me shocked at my attitude.

"Well for starters do you want to know why your jutsu didn't work and instead your whole body tensed up? Because of the Rairyukami," He adds blankly. My eyes widen at his words and I step back.

"How do you know about that!" I snap and Shikamaru notices my discomfort and tells the man not to step any closer. He stops in his tracks and looks over at him and then a grin forms on his face.

"Because I worked with your father, I know everything about the sword and I like to propose a deal," He adds. I step in front of Shikamaru and look at him.

"My father…?" I say softly.

"Your father was one my best friends and we fought together and were even on the same team. I had the sword before I gave it to him. So I know everything there is to it," He continues. I look down at the ground picturing my father then look at this man's face. He seems friendly enough.

"The sword is originated from the Kesaki clan, so why would you have it?" I add bitterly. He explains that he had won it in a bet from another Kesaki and he had it for a while until he gave it to my father.

"Whats your deal?" I ask now interested in what he has to say. The girl steps forward and stands by him.

"Simple, to leave the leaf village and come with us. We can help you become stronger and master the Rairyukami, I know all its secrets and Takami here knows just about every lightning jutsu there is. You just have to trust us," he says and waits for my reaction. I stare at him for a while before I finally speak up.

"What makes you think I would trust a stranger? After all, that girl attacked us and injured my friend! What makes you think I'd want to be taught by her?" I give her one of the nastiest glares and she steps forward with a fist and Baku holds her back.

"You stubborn little brat!" She shouts.

"I understand, but if you continue to use the Rairyukami without mastering its power it will deteriorate your entire chakra system, that is why your jutsu failed because it's still worn out from the tremendous power used in your last battle, the night with the full moon," He continues I step forward with a fist asking him how he could possibly know that and Shikamaru holds me back.

"Look just at least consider it, yeah? We are going to talk to Lady Tsunade about this and ask for her permission, but the final decision would be all yours, Yamouri. If you continue to use the sword like that you will end up killing yourself," He adds. I step back and shiver at the idea of not being able to accomplish my goal.

"Just consider it you stubborn brat!" Snaps Takami with a bitter tone.

"How long would I have to leave?" I butt in. They both raise their eyebrows and Shikamaru looks at me surprised as well.

"About a year or so depending on how much you want to master," He says.

"I'll consider it," I add.

"I understand your situation," He does a summing jutsu and a hawk appears on his shoulder.

"Simply whistle for him, and he will come to you and you tell him the message, and he will report to us and we will return," He says. The hawk flies up to a tree above us. We look up at it and when we look back towards their direction they're gone.

"What? Where'd they go?" I think to myself. I look at Shikamaru who looks down at the ground seriously.

"Shika?" I say softly.

"We should get you back, the nurse is probably worried," He says with a blank expression and starts to walk ahead and looks back at me as I stare up at the hawk and then at him.

"This is my chance. I finally have the opportunity to become strong, and I can finally end this nightmare that haunts me every day," I think to myself and scratch my arm.

"Yeah…" I add and pick up the cane from the ground. He grins widely to see me using it and I glare at him so he doesn't mention it and he just smirks and I slap his arm and we walk back to the hospital. As the hawk flies up above us.


	44. Chapter 44 Tired of Waiting

"Alright Yamouri, the procedure here has made your eyes very sensitive…we are going to have to bandage you up again, but don't worry in about two days you should be seeing perfectly normal," The nurse says for about the millionth time.

After the incident with Shikamaru about that offer with those two strange ninja I had started experiencing weird side effects and Lady Tsunade had to do some adjustments. Just when things were getting better they have to crumble back down. I've gotten so tired of staying here and have tried to escape about three times now, but each time stupid Shikamaru has to show up and spoil my plans. I lay back down clenching my pillow thinking all about the events that only happened a few days ago. Out of a nowhere a sign of hope came to me and I finally am back on track. Though I still haven't made a final decision. This is what I wanted, but it feels weird to know that it actually came and I can leave the leaf village, but I know if I leave I might not come back. Everyone went on a misson recently dealing with Gaara. Oh If I wasn't here I would have went to see him. Apparently his student was captured by people looking for him resulting in a fight with some damage. Though he came out ok I still wish I was there. I was the only one who wasn't.

"Too much stress…" I mumble. I take a big breath and even though I don't want to I fall asleep anyways.

…

I wake up in my old bed from when I was a child and look around at how I had the room arranged. I stumble off the bed and look out the window and see my brother talking to my father in the front yard. Putting on my black shoes I rush out the door and run towards them, but they get farther and farther away. I extend my hand and call for them, but they don't even turn around. I begin panting and feel as if my heart is going to pop out of chest and I fall over scrapping my knees. I look over and my brother just looks back at me as his face transform into Kento's and then my father's scream fills the air. I try and get up but see the minor scrapes on my legs are giant gashes now as blood starts to pour out. I let out screams at the sight of that much blood and then my head falls back and a white light hits me.

I rise up in the hospital bed gasping and quickly touching my legs to check if it was really all just a dream. I sigh in relief and lay back down on my bed unable to fall back asleep.

~::.::.::.::.::The next night::.::.::.::.::~

"Yamouri….let's go back now, I'm tired," Shikamaru whines. I extend my hand out and grab onto a tree trunk. Shikamaru explains it's pretty much dark outside and we really need to get back to the hospital. I look up towards the sky sad that I can't even see my star. I mean I was finally getting my vision back and it left me again. I touch my bandages wishing I could simply just take them off now and everything would be normal again.

"On a night like this I would come out and sit on a roof somewhere and watch the stars….especially mine," I mumble. Shikamaru looks at me sort of shocked at that I'm finally starting to open up. I then explain to him that when I was little Kento had given it to me and it meant a lot.

"Can I ask you a question?" Shikamaru adds nervously.

"Yeah…what?" I say while sitting down on the grass.

"You look for that star just about every night…right?" He says. I nod while fidgeting with my fingers. "But if you hate Kento why look for something that he gave you?" He says. His words make me frozen.

"Because I gave it to my brother after he died. Now I like to think of it as him looking down on me. Kento has nothing to do with it," I add bitterly. Then he asks why I told him the story of when he did give it to me making me more angered.

"I think that the only reason people hold onto memories so tight is because it's the only thing that doesn't change," He adds and takes a seat next to me. It's true that no matter how much I want to hate Kento with every ounce of my being, there will always be that 1% that can't let go of the past before everything changed. And the whole situation doesn't make any sense. I know for sure my father did no harm to his family. In fact it pisses me off even more for him to blame my father for this.

"Well it doesn't matter about that because right now I will dedicate myself even more to avenge my family, my clan, and my village," I think to myself. I lean towards what I think is the tree, but is Shikamaru's shoulder. He looks at her confused then looks back at the sky as she falls asleep on his shoulder.

~::.::.::.::.::Next day::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright Yamouri, this is it….hopefully…." Lady Tsunade says as she enters the room to find her facing the window still bandaged. It's obvious now that this situation has just made her more closed off and depressed. With all that she's had to deal with its impressive that she can still manage a smile every now in then, thanks to the wonderful friends. She takes a nervous sigh and carefully starts to unwrap the bandages slowly. The nurse waits anxiously knowing this is the final time whether it works or not. She will either have to accept her vision is gone forever or she can go back to her ninja life. Finishing taking off the last strand she stares at her face and then looks over at Shizune and the nurse as they all have sick feeling in their stomach. Yamouri slowly opens her eyes revealing her big shiny green eyes.

I open my eyes and everything is just a big blur and until it starts to come into focus and I can see Lady Tsunade, Shizune and a nurse I've never seen before standing around my bed with their hands on their mouths. I can't even make words come out of my mouth.

"Well…?" Lady Tsunade adds breaking the silence of the room. I look at them blankly and just simply smile which is enough for them as they all sigh in relieve and Shizune nearly falls over. Lady Tsunade then tests me asking how many finger she's holding and I pass the test easily. She hands me a mirror. I haven't seen my reflection in weeks and she says not to be concerned of some new scars because they will fade. I bite my tongue and lift the mirror to my face. I gasp as I see cuts all over my face. My eyes look the same as before and then I put it down on my lap and I try and hold back tears of joy.

I stand up and walk over to the window and pull open the curtains and smile big as I see the sun shine over the village. The door opens and Naruto, Lee, and Shikamaru walk in. I turn around and face them. Naruto drops his bag with his jaw wide open and just points.

"Yamouri…?" Naruto shouts with a huge smile on his face as his blue eyes do that weird twinkle thing Guy-sensei's teeth do. Lady Tsunade laughs and then she says the visit needs to be quick because I need to rest. She starts to walk out with Shizune and the nurse following after her saying they will check up again later.

"Oh…and Yamouri, now that you're recovered I would like to talk to you later today," She adds and walks out. Naruto and Lee hug me squeezing until I can barely breathe I push them back, but I just can't wipe off that smile.

"How does it feel?" Naruto asks excitedly.

"It feels weird…it's been dark and blurry for so long now…" I say shyly. He grins and says we should celebrate with ramen later. I nod in agreement.

"No Naruto she needs to rest first!" Lee adds. I tell him it'll be fine. And the nurse says I can leave tomorrow. Lee and Naruto walk out after a while of reminiscing and Shikamaru stays behind. I look out the window again looking at all the people down below.

"So…Now that you can see I guess you'll be leaving soon huh?" Shikamaru says breaking the silence of the room. I continue to look out placing my hand on the window. Now that my vision is back I have to think hard about this decision. Even though Baku said about a year I'm sure it'll be about two. And then there's the Chuunin exam to think about.

"Yeah…I think I'm going," I mumble.

He just looks at her face as the light from outside highlights her face. Only a few weeks ago she was in a coma…. And had slipped away for a few minutes. It was the weirdest thing…all he did was place his hand on hers and her chest had started rising. Of course she doesn't really know this, and on top of that he realizes she's just a big mystery despite his new knowledge. Her secret now on the table and every time he's around her that's all he can think about. Could it be their friendship is fading? If she leaves who knows how she'll be like when she comes back. She'll be like Sasuke…Obsessed with power.

"Well then, I don't know about you, but I'm outta here," I mumble and slide open the window. He looks surprised and shouts that the nurse said I couldn't leave yet. I stand on the railing and look down at the ground. Everything looks like its spinning I grab onto the edge and then look back at Shikamaru with a grin. I jump down and Shikamaru rushes to the window and sees I'm already gone.

"Why is she so stubborn…." He whines and the nurse walks in asking where she went looking at her empty bed.

"Uh…." He stutters.

~::.::.::.::.::A few minutes later::.::.::.::.::~

"It all looks different," I whisper as I go up and touch random things. I never in a million years would think this would happen to me. I realize how much I love my eyesight. I start to run and turn the corner smacking into something and jerk back. I look over and see a girl with light green hair and black eyes glaring at me.

"Watch where you're going stupid," She hisses as she stands up and brushes her black and blue outfit.

"I'm sorry….I was just…." I start to say and stand up as well, trying not to punch her stupid face.

"Yeah you better be sorry," She snaps crossing her arms. Then I realize I've never seen this girl before and I don't like her attitude. In fact she just ruined my mood.

"Well maybe you should watch where the hell you're going," I snap back trying to calm myself.

"Weren't you that blind girl?" She says while looking at my face and then she touches the area around my eye.

"Uh…Yeah…But not anymore," I add and smack her hand away.

"Yeah I heard how….pathetic," She says and keeps on a straight face. I clench my fist and take a swing and an arm grabs my hand. She falls to the ground anyways, flinching. I look over and see Shikamaru standing there. The girl just laughs and starts to say some other things and starts to come towards us. Shikamaru yells for us to stop but I push him away and make a fist running towards her as well. We both get pushed to the ground by some mysterious black haired boy. I look over and I've never seen him either.

"Akahana! What are you doing going around starting fights!" He snaps.

"Sorry brother…." She mumbles annoyingly and we both stand up. They start to whisper among themselves Shikamaru sasses at me for being out of the hospital only for a few minutes and already getting into a fight. She looks over and refers to Shikamaru as my boyfriend and I clench my fist again. And walk towards her and Shika tells me to calm down as that Akahana girl flips her green hair over her shoulder and starts to walk off.

"Who does she think she is!" I shout and then my head starts to throb and I feel my legs lose balance as I fall into Shikamaru's arms.

….

"Yamouri?" He says while shaking my shoulders. "I told you to take it easy. Arg I could be home taking a nap…" My eyes flutter open and he explains I fainted and I slowly sit back up.

"Lady Tsunade wants to see you…" He adds as I get to my feet I give him a serious look as I see the hawk fly above us.

"I knew this was coming…." I sigh.

~::.::.::.::.::A few minutes later::.::.::.::.::~

"Lady Tsunade what exactly did that guy say?" Shizune ask remembering that strange man with that girl talking with her for a very long time until they finally left. Their attention turns to the door when they hear a knock and then the door opens. Yamouri walks in with the scroll in her back pouch and carries a serious look.

"Oh good you're here….I've been wanting to ask you about the battle that took place in the cloud village," She says careful with her word choices. I stand a few feet away from her desk and look down at the ground waiting for the questions I've known would come.

"Well go on," I stutter. She nods and begins with asking me exactly what happened when I was kidnapped and what those people wanted. I explain to her the whole situation.

"When we got there…. I fought Katajo and then he showed up…." I mumble referring to Kento. She nods taking this all in and Shizune stands there nervously.

"He…..Had a curse mark, just like Sasuke," I add. By her reaction I knew I was correct…it has some connection with Sasuke. Such shock and confusion. And then she slams the desk. "So he's one of his pawns…This is more complicated than I thought, "She thinks to herself.

"A curse mark?" She says calmly and puts her hands under chin. "If that's true then it's safe to assume, Kento is working for Orochimaru." I get a sick knot in my chest when she mentions the name. The same man who gave Sasuke that power…all so he can go after his older brother. But what purpose would Kento have to receive something like that if he had thought he finished off the Kesaki clan.

"Who exactly is that?" I say bitterly. She takes out a picture and then starts to explain he was a former shinobi in the leaf village. I look at the picture and just one look at him sends shiver down my spine.

"Did Kento say anything to the purpose of what he did seven years ago?" She asks.

"Yeah….he said my father had killed his family, but I know it's not true. My father is not capable of doing such a thing," I add. She starts thinking to herself and then says they will help me investigate it, but I tell them I can do it myself. She changes the subject seeing me uncomfortable and then asks about the Baku offer and says she feels that I can trust him and this is what I wanted to receive some training. She doesn't mention anything about the sword which means he must have not told her about it.

"So what's your decision?" She adds blankly.

"I…I'm going with them," I stutter and then put on a straight face.


	45. Chapter 45 Happy Birthday

"Aaaah!" I yell as I throw several more kunai knives towards targets drawn on trees. Neji stands back up panting and looks over at me.

"You should take it easy," He says and comes over handing my pouch I dropped. I sigh in frustration seeing that I missed four of the seven targets I use to get 100% accurate.

Lady Tsunade said I should think over the decision of leaving to train. So I decided to stay for another week or so. In the meantime I've returned to training with Neji, Lee and Guy-sensei. I realized this morning that my birthday is coming up, but I'm sure no one even knows about it so I'm going to keep it to myself. After all it's just another year older and I'm not in any mood to celebrate something that's supposed to be joyful, when I'm not. I look down at my kunai knives and get in ready position to go for it again. I throw them with force and this time miss five.

"Ugh!" I shout in frustration and throw more clumsily and Neji puts his hand on my shoulder.

"It's alright, you'll have perfect aim again soon," He says in his calming voice and I take a deep breath and walk over to the tree. Lee shows up with a grocery bag and smiles like he's hiding something.

"Yamouri I got something for you," He says and I raise my eyebrow as he takes out a box of fudge. Neji takes the box saying it'll make me sick and I stand up and glare at him. Lee tries to convince him otherwise but that stubborn guy won't budge.

"Quit being selfish! You just want that fudge to yourself…." I whine and Lee glares at Neji.

"Very well then I guess I'm going to have to fight for it! Hold this Yamouri," Lee says and hands me his grocery bag. Neji just has a blank look on while staring at us.

"Lee it's my fudge, let me fight my own battles!" I snap and shove the grocery bag back into his arms.

"No! You're still in recovery! Allow me! Besides Neji is my rival," he adds shoving the bag back towards me, I shove it back and we continue shoving it back and forth. A mushroom drops out of my pocket and we all look at it.

"Uh Oh…." I mumble. Feeling sweat drops form all around my head. I look at Neji and notice his eyebrow twitch.

"Yamouri what is this?" Neji says while looking at it. I bet he remembers back in the Chuunin Exam and how it made me a bit crazy. I had stuffed my backpack full of them anyways. He had emphasized not to, but of course I didn't listen.

"Didn't I tell you to throw these away?" He says strictly.

"Well….I …Um…." I stutter and Lee picks it up examining its strange color. I roll my eyes at Neji.

"Put that down Lee!" Neji snaps and instead Lee starts to sniff it. "Lee!" He throws it in the air and I jump up and catch it and begin to run into the woods. They both gasp and Neji calls after me, but I continue to run with the mushroom in my hand and hide behind a tree. I hear their footsteps getting closer and then shove the mushroom in my mouth and begin to chew. The odd taste envelops my mouth and I sigh and sit down continuing to chew until I finally swallow it.

"I told you not to eat those!" He snaps and then sees me with no mushroom and slaps his forehead. Lee bends down staring at me as I just stare at Neji with a very blank expression not even acknowledging Lee.

"What is happening?" Lee asks looking over at Neji while Yamouri's head starts to spin. I see the trees moving out of their place and spinning all around me. I lean back on the tree feeling like I'm floating. As soap bubbles start to float around Neji's head and then around Lee and I notice how huge his eyebrows are.

"Help me get her up," Neji orders and grabs my arm. I start to giggle quiet at first until it picks up into a very loud laugh. Lee grabs my other arm and swings it over his shoulder. They slowly lift me as the ground turns into a purple color.

"Neji smells," I mumble under my breath. Lee smiles wide seeing Neji's face crinkle. My head swaying side to side and banging on Neji's shoulder.

"Stop it," He snaps and then I push their arms off and begin to sprint towards the forest. The trees turn to an orange shade and it feels like I'm in slow motion with bubbles floating all around me again. I see a giant mushroom wating for me just a few more feet away and I start to sprint faster towards it only to find it's just a tree and I smack right into it flying back. I sit up and rub my forehead and hear Lee and Neji's footsteps getting louder and I jump up and begin running again.

"She's heading to the village!" Lee shouts and they go after her.

"Yamouri!" Neji calls and I run into the village and hide behind a stand. I cover my mouth because I feel like laughing out loud again. The old lady at the stand looks down at me and glares. Then goes on about me disrespecting her by being in her space I roll my eyes at her and just give her a blank look as she continues to lecture. She's got a rather large figure.

"Hippo…" I say quietly. Her eyes nearly pop out of her head as she starts to shout things and then takes out a broom and raises it and I stand up and start to run off and turn the corner running into Naruto.

"Yamouri…?" He says.

"Naruto…? When did you get so big?" I ask. He gives me a confused look and I hear Neji's voice and hide behind Naruto. He scratches the back of his head as Neji and Lee walk by. I start to rub my fingers through his hair and he shivers and asks if I'm ok. I twirl around and see Neji glaring at me as he grabs my arm saying I need to go get some water.

"NOOO!" I shout and then Lee shows up to help retrain me. I continue to fidget mumbling things like Neji needs to get a haircut and other things. I'm sure he's going to end up searching my house and throwing away my whole stash. I don't exactly know why I do keep them in the first place. Maybe because they make me happy?

~::.::.::.::.::A few days later:.::.::.::.::~

"Oh no its today…" I sigh while looking at my bed stand. When I first got back home everything was oddly clean and Shikamaru had explained that the ninjas who kidnapped me most likely did so to make it seem like I had run away. But they didn't know Shikamaru knew I was the laziest messiest girl around. I slapped him when he said that.

"Good thing no one knows…I've never told anyone so there shouldn't be any surprises…" I whisper. I look at my calendar and see the number 13 circled. I cross it out and draw a frowny face. I decide I'm going to work on my drawings all day and pull my sketchbooks out from under the bed and begin to look through them only to see that the majority of them are me with my brother. I close them and stuff them under my bed leaving only one behind, the one Shikamaru gave me and the only one with blank pages left.

"Oh I need a new one," I sigh and place it on my bed. Opening it to a drawing of my family.

"Happy birthday to me," I say with a smile while looking down at their realistic faces. I lay on the bed with the drawing in my arms. I close my eyes and relax myself as I drift into sleep.

…..

"Take my hand," I hear my brother's voice say. I open my eyes and see him smiling at me with his hand extended out for me to hold. "Let's fly."

"Kyho?" I ask and don't even look around where I am. I smile and take his hand and we start to fly up towards the big blue sky. We start to cut through clouds and as we do they fill my body with warmth. We continue to soar through the sky passing through millions of clouds. I look down at the tiny patches of green and then we start to flip and I tighten my grip onto his hand. And he just continues to say not to be scared as we speed up. It feels amazing and birds fly by and then follow after us. Kyho makes us twirl and I tighten my grip and pass through more clouds.

"Just hold my hand if you're feelign scared sis," He says.

"There's a world out here that you should see," He continues to say as we continue to float up higher and higher. He looks down at me with his huge smile and purple eyes as we continue to go through out the sky until we finally make it to the place he was talking about, a giant flower field on top of the clouds. I smile even wider and hug my brother who hugs back even tighter.

"Happy birthday sis," He whispers gently and disappears. I fall back onto a cloud and close my eyes.

…..

I open my eyes and gently sit up in my bed looking around as the morning sun shines through my bedroom window. I put my sketchbook into my bag and head into the kitchen to grab an orange and head out the door. Just going to act like it's another normal day. I have a lot of training to do so I'm in good condition when it comes to the real hardcore stuff Baku promised. My knife now just sits in a brown box inside my room. I grab a stick and start to poke random things on the floor and find a slug sizzling in the sun and I gently push it in the shade.

"There you go little guy," I say softly. Shikamaru turns the corner and sees this and smiles big. He puts his hands behind his back and she slowly stands up facing him.

"Oh…Shikamaru when did you get there?" I say nervously. He sighs tiredly saying he was looking for Choji and Ino then looks down at my hands seeing my sketch book. First time in months that I decide to go draw. I grin at him and see Hikaru coming towards us, but with a girl next to him. She's average looking, black hair and brown eyes. Looks like a ninja, but I've never seen her before.

"Hey Yamouri!" He shouts. Shikamaru rolls his eyes and stands closer to me looking over at them.

"Who's the chick?" He whispers with a hand covering his mouth. I shrug and she just keeps a blank face on.

"This is my friend Tora Katsue," He says blankly and stares at me like if he's waiting for my reaction.

"Oh nice to meet you," I say sweetly and offer her my hand she hesitates then shakes it. She stares at Shikamaru then back at me with a suspicious look. I wonder what she's doing hanging with Hikaru. He then starts to talk about what he's been doing like he always does. Ending up being the only person talking. The girl looks really interested to what he has to say almost like she's in love with him.

"And then I was like there's no need for that Zai," He says with a laugh. No one else laughs.

"Oh that's so funny Hikaru!" She says and claps her hands together. She flips her hair and he just glances at her then looks back at me. I look down at my sketchbook wanting to leave, but I don't want to seem rude. Shikamaru breaks the silence by asking me what I'm doing tonight. I look up at him and tell him I don't know yet. He sighs tiredly saying is not hard to figure it out. Tora giggles to herself and we look over at her and she slightly blushes. Then looks around innocently. Hikaru takes Shikamaru by the arm and they walk over a few feet away and begin whispering.

"Woaah they're actually getting along…" I add and Tora laughs asking what I usually do on a day off. I give her a simple answer, but she doesn't even notice because she's watching Hikaru like a hawk. Hikaru comes back over telling Tora they should leave. And she nods and winks at Shikamaru.

"What was that?" I ask him he just shrugs and puts on his I'm tired looks and then says he's got things to take care off and begins to walk off. Leaving me alone in the alley.

"Aw…" I say quietly and then look back down at my sketchbook remembering the purpose I left my house. I start to walk towards the tree feeling sadder than usual. I take a seat on the branch with the squirrels, but they don't come out this time.

"Oh how strange…" I say softly and open my book and look around for something inspiring and then close my eyes and place my pencil on the paper and let myself get lost into my drawing.

~::.::.::.::.::A few hours later::.::.::.::.::~

I look down at my drawing of Kyho and I sitting in the clouds. There's a lot of space between us, but I'll always feel like he's next to me. I grab onto my locket and smile. I notice the sky is darkening.

"Where did the time go…?" I sigh and close my book. Glad that the day is almost over. I've never really celebrated my birthday here. It's just another day. Besides its always lonely not hearing my parent's voices or my brother's saying something…not even a good luck.

I jump down the tree and start to head home scratching my eyes. I have to take this medicine about four times a week and I have to get checkups every now and then. Which is ok because I'm just glad I didn't lose my vision forever.

"Yamouri!" I hear Hinata say from behind. I look at her and she looks excited. "Um…You want to go get something to eat?" She stutters. I think about it for a minute and nod and she smiles and claps her hands together and says to come with her.

"Uh…Alright," I mumble. She takes my wrist and starts to drag me to the best restaurant in town. She makes me wait outside while she goes in to make reservations. "Um…alright?"

I look up at my star twinkling and I smile big and then Hinata signals for me to come in. I nod and then when I walk in I hear a bunch of voices shout at the same time.

"SURPRISE!" They shout. I drop my sketchbook staring with my mouth open. I see the whole gang….Kiba and his team with Akamaru, Shikamaru's team, Naruto, Sakura, Kaira with Zai and Kimi and even Mei, Hikaru with his friend Tora, Neji and Lee. Balloons are set up all around the place and I see no one else is there. On the right is a table with presents stacked and then a big banner with my name on it. I blush slightly and then bite my lip.

"Happy birthday Yamouri," Naruto says and gives me a thumbs up and then points to a big orange box on the table.

"How did you guys know it was….." I start to say and then Sakura adds Shikamaru knew and told everyone. He looks over and smiles and starts to walk towards me. For some odd reason I start to get nervous and then I look down at my feet.

"Just wanted to make today special," He says blankly and grins. I try to hold back tears, and he puts his hand on my shoulder. Hikaru then starts shouting something at Naruto and music starts to play in the background. I look over and see everyone chatting away.

"Party time!" Naruto shouts.

"Thank you," I mumble to Shikamaru. "Come on birthday girl let's go eat some dinner." He leads me to the fanciest chair at the table and then takes a seat next to me and everyone else starts to settle down. Waiters start to bring trays full of food. My mouth starts to water when I see a giant steak coming my way. Once everyone is served we begin to stuff our faces, and being the first to finish I look around the table.

"I never thought I'd have these people as friends," I think to myself and see Tora flirting with Hikaru but he's too busy eating to notice then Naruto hitting on Sakura. Kaira and Kiba are talking and Kimi is giving them weird looks. Hinata is staring at Naruto and Choji is eating Ino's food. Shikamaru is talking a little with Choji and Neji is quiet. Lee asks Shino something about his training and then there's Zai talking to Mei under the table. Akamaru is chewing at a present on the floor and I sit back and take a deep breath.

"So how long have you two been dating?" Ino asks Kiba and Kaira making everyone else go silent. Everyone looks over at them as both their faces turn red. Then Kimi answers for them that they're in denial still. Hikaru starts to laugh hysterically and Zai does too. Then Kiba snaps out that they are just friends and I take a piece of Shikamaru's chicken. He glares at me and I just smirk.

"What about you two?" Tora adds looking at Shikamaru and I. My face turns red and I start to choke on my chicken. Lee pushes his chair back and comes to my back and starts to squeeze my stomach and I spit it on the table. Shikamaru says the same thing as Kiba with a blank tone in his voice. Then Ino whispers we are also in denial.

"I'm in denial of nothing," I add bitterly.

"Oh Yamouri! You're going to love my present!" Naruto shouts at the other end trying to change the subject because I would totally jump across the table to pull that girls hair. I smile and add that he didn't have to get me a thing. After everyone is finished the waiters brings out a giant chocolate fudge cake with my name on it and 13 candles on top.

"OH MY GOSH!" I shout as my eyes seem to pop out of their sockets. Naruto claps his hands together in excitement.

"Alright make a wish!" Choji says with a twinkle in his eyes staring at the big mountain of chocolaty goodness. Sakura stands up and starts to take pictures.

"Make a wish on every candle," I hear Kyho's voice in my head. I close my eyes and start to blow them out one at a time and then the cake is cut in pieces as everyone at the table devours it. Hikaru takes a big blob of fudge and rubs it on my nose as Sakura takes a picture.

"Good one Hikaru!" Sakura says.

"PRESENT TIME?" Naruto shouts. I nod and begin to open people's presents. I thank each person as I start to get a pile of fudge boxes (kind of getting tired of it) and a scarf and a plastic bug from Shino along with other things. I even got a green ribbon from Mei the black kitty. I end up with three presents left to open. Hikaru's Naruto's and Shikamaru's.

"Whose should I open first?" I gasp and place my hands on my cheeks.

"MINE!" Naruto shouts placing his big box in front of me. I scratch the back of my head, not sure what to think and then when I unwrap it, I find a lifetime supply of ramen.

"Thank you Naruto!" I smile and he smiles even bigger making his eyes squint. I start to laugh and then Hikaru hands me his. Which is a little red box that's leaking.

"Uh….what is it?" I mumble and begin to unwrap it and stop when it starts to fill the room with a very disgusting smell. "Hikaru what the hell did you put in there?" Kiba snaps. I begin to unwrap again scared to what I might find and then to my disgust see a green lump crawled into a ball in the corner of the box.

"A….frog?" I stutter and with a spoon poke it and it doesn't move. The thing is dried out and dead and smells.

"Whoops forgot to put breathing holes…." He says and then just smiles like nothing is wrong. Kiba starts to laugh and then Naruto. Soon just about everyone is laughing. I flop the dead frog on the table and everyone stops laughing and looks at it with blank expressions.

"You killed it…" Tora says and starts to cry. Zai pats her back and Neji grabs a napkin and puts it back in the box.

"Poor frog…" I say quietly. Shino sighs and then Kimi asks me about the locket I'm wearing. I look down at it realizing I forgot about it. I put it in my hand and a smile forms on my face.

"It was my mother's," I add. Making the table quieter than before. Shikamaru looks at her with sadness and then Tora stands up and walks over to the music player and puts on a fast beat song. Everyone looks over at her as she starts to spin and grabs Hikaru's hands and they start to dance. Zai asks Ino to dance and she agrees. Sakura makes Naruto go to compete with Ino. The sound of the music makes the table and chairs vibrate. Kaira and Kiba get up and everyone looks over at them.

"Ok party?" Shikamaru adds. I look at him and lean towards him.

"Yeah it is thanks again," I say softly. A slow song comes on and I notice more people have arrived.

"Great... Party crashers..." He says nervously and then sighs as people start to walk in. Hikaru walking over to a group of nerdy boys. Obviously he must have invited them.

"It's ok," I say with a giggle and then look over and see Kiba and Kaira slow dancing. I see other people start to dance and then I start to fidget with my hands and Choji starts talking to Shikamaru. Kimi looks over and walks towards us.

"Having fun?" She asks. I nod and then look at the people dancing. A guy comes up asking Kimi to dance she blushes and he takes her hand. I wave at her and then look down at my presents. And realize I didn't open Shikamaru's. I pick up the blue box and start to unwrap it and find a picture of Shikamaru, Choji, and I after a day of hanging out. There's red sauce all over Choji's face. I smile and then look down in the box and see two brand new sketch books and on top of that is a little gold box. I open it and see a charm bracelet. Such a girly gift that maybe Ino had helped him with it. I smile even wider and try and put it on my wrist but can't latch it. Shikamaru comes along and latches it for me asking me if I like his present. I nod and then Tora rushes over.

"You guys should dance!" She says in a whiny voice.

"No….Dancing isn't my thing," I mumble with a glare so she gets the message, but she pulls my wrist. "I don't like to dance…." I hiss.

"My leg hurts…" Shikamaru adds. She pulls his wrist and then leads us to the dance floor. I try and release my wrist but her grip is very tight.

"Holy cow she's strong…." I think to myself and then she starts babbling on about how this song is good and she pushes me forward slamming into Shikamaru's chest. With my hands landing on his shoulders. I roll my eyes as she stands there with her arms crossed.

"Um…I don't want to dance Tora…." I mumble. She makes fists and an angry face which sends a shiver down my spine and making me walk towards him.

"She might be scarier than my mother…" Shikamaru says under his breathe and then he puts his hands on my back and with my hands on his shoulders leaving a gap between us. We both just look to the side with blank expressions as we start swaying side to side slowly. I look around at the other people with their heads on each other's shoulders. I sigh like I'm bored. Tora starts to smile and it makes me blush slightly. I avert my eyes from her and then I look up at Shikamaru.

"_But….Hold your breath because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you," The song plays. _

I get a sick feeling in my stomach and then look down at the ground. This is just all too weird. It's all Tora's fault for making us dance. I mean could things get more awkward? I look over and see Ino winking at us. I roll my eyes and take a step back to make the gap even bigger.

"_And remember me tonight when you're asleep, because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you."_

"I didn't know someone lazy as you knew how to dance…" I mumble trying to tune out the song. He smirks and we start to spin around the room and it suddenly feels like no one else is around. Like no one else is watching. It almost feels like time has stopped and I'm lost, like the world around us has disappeared. He raises my arms and we start to sway again and then he spins me and I pull in placing my hands on his shoulders again. And then he puts his hands on my back again and my head leans over his shoulder. I smile and slightly blush as I see Ino staring at us with a daydreaming look. I roll my eyes and no matter how hard I try and wipe the smile off my face it just won't go away.

Hikaru watches in disgust and crosses his arms unable to do anything about what is going on. He looks over at some left over cake and gets an evil idea. He grabs a hand full and rushes to Shikamaru and throws it at his butt, then rubs some in his face.

"Look guys Shikamaru had an accident!" Hikaru shouts making the music stop. I step away at the mess and glare at Hikaru.

"You idiot!" Shikamaru shouts and then Naruto and Choji hold him back.

"It slipped…" He says innocently and shrugs his shoulders. A waiter comes and cleans up the mess and then the music starts again. I decide I've had enough fun and pick up all my presents and head out the door as everyone else stays behind.

"I have to train tomorrow," I mumble and then Shikamaru calls after me.

"Need help with those?" He says. I shake my head and he comes and takes a load off anyways.

"Thank you for the presents…" I add. He looks at my wrist with the charm bracelet. He then goes on explaining that Ino insisted for him to add it in there. I laugh and he just looks to the side. We make it to my house and then he asks if this was a good birthday.

"Honestly….it's been the best in a very long time," I smile wide and then he trips on a rock nearly falling on top of me. He stands back up and our faces are only inches away. I get a rush feeling, the kind I get when I eat too many mushrooms. It's like I'm experiencing an out of body moment as we both slowly start to lean towards each other.

*SMACK!*

I step back and scream seeing the dead frog on Shikamaru's face with slim dripping all over his face.

"Whoops!" Hikaru shouts and runs off. I look back and then back at him as he tries to wipe if off.

"Um…. I'll see you later…." I stutter nervously and grab my things and close the door.

"What the hell was that?" I mumble and fall down to my knees thinking of what almost happened between us which could have changed everything. It's not something I want. "Idiot Yamouri."

I put all the things on the dinner table and walk slowly to my bedroom and lay down humming the slow song and start to sing some lyrics. And finally drift to sleep.

….

"I'll come after anyone you come close to….I'll destroy your life over again if I have to…" I hear Kento's voice sounding like it's coming from inside my room as I shoot out of bed and look around grabbing a kunai knife. After a few minutes of searching the room his words start to repeat in my head.

"Was I dreaming it?" I mumble. Whatever it was made some sense. "I need to leave sooner then I thought. I'm getting too attached to certain people."

* * *

I added a little bit of modern stuff in this chapter, such as the song that played and I don't think they actually danced haha... Anyways please let me know what you think about this so review? ^_^


	46. Chapter 46 Goodbye Leaf Village

I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling thinking. Lots of things have been going through my mind and I'm just very confused about basically everything. I just don't know what exactly to do. I push myself up and rip off the covers and walk towards the window just in time to see the hawk fly over my apartment building. Which reminds me I still have to send it off to get Baku and Takami. They had explain to do if just a few days before the time I wanted to leave and instead of wasting another week here I decided to leave first things tomorrow morning. I push the window open and step on the ledge and climb up a railing and stand on top of the roof. I let out a loud whistle sending the hawk towards me. He starts to swirl over my head and I extend my arm out as he lands.

"Let them know I'm ready, and to be here as soon as possible, kay?" I say softly. The bird nods and flies off disappearing in the sky as I climb back into my room and grab an empty backpack bigger than my usual one and start to fill it with some clothes and all my weapons along with other things especially my sword. Leaving my pictures behind and I hesitate whether or not to bring the sketchbooks. I look down at my bracelet and smile, then it turns into a frown.

"I don't need distractions…" I mumble and place all my sketch books back under the bed. I start to fidget with the bracelet trying to take it off, but the latch is annoying and won't open. A knocking at the door surprises me. Leaving my backpack on the couch almost full I get up to answer it, wondering who it could be.

"Lee…?" I say softly seeing him looking down at the ground and then at me and I stare at his bushy brows.

"Oh hello Yamouri. I was just passing through…" He says and smiles making his eyes squint.

"Oh… Well I'm kind of busy…" I start to say and he sees my backpack knowing right away what it's for. He nods and tells me what he will be doing all day in case I want to find him later, then he walks off.

"She's leaving already," Lee thinks to himself and goes off thinking.

~::.::.::.::.::A few hours later::.::.::.::.::~

"I feel frozen," I mumble looking down at the picture Shikamaru gave to me. I place the picture faced down. My heart wants me to stay here with all my friends, but my head wants me to finish what I started. I just have to keep reminding myself that I will never surpass Kento if I stay here. I start to think back to the battle and all the things that were said. I get up and punch the wall and then fall down to my knees holding my bloody fist.

"_Then it's _safe_ to assume he's working with Orochimaru." _Lady Tsunade's words rush through my mind and I stand up grabbing a green coat heading out the door. The sun is slowly going down and I walk through the busy part of town with little kids running around. I put my hands in my pockets with a blank expression as it starts to sprinkle down rain.

~::.::.::.::.::Flashbacks::.::.::.::.::~

"What's going on!" I cried and it's like my voice was gone. I ran as fast as I could, but it was too late. My house burning to the ground with everything I had inside. Standing at the entrance I saw my family and blood everywhere. I dodged a piece of the ceiling that fell, bumping into that figure.

"Kento...?" I asked. "Where have you been? What...?" I had mumbled and his eyes read bloody murder.

The smoke began to disperse and I saw his face splattered with blood. "Kento!" I gasped. "What happened to you?" That's when I looked down and saw him holding his uncle's sword. The sword drenched in blood. I looked at his face and the look in his eyes had caused my whole body to tremble in fear.

"Kento! It can't..." I stuttered. "You did this?" He stared at me with a blank look in his eyes. Before I could do a thing he had raised his sword and pierced me through the chest. With no time to even react.

"You've always been so weak…How pathetic," He said. And pushed it more into my chest. My whole body had gone numb and all I could do was cut his face as he left me there to die slowly. The blood just wouldn't stop and I just drifted off helplessly.

…..

"Yamouri….I don't want you to see that boy…" My father had once told me. I didn't think he was serious and being so naïve didn't even try to understand his reasons.

"Why father….He's my friend," I mumbled making fists. My mom had started to lecture me about my father always knowing what was best and I had stormed off to my room. Alone in the dark I laid until my brother had come to try and cheer me up. Kento didn't understand why my family didn't like him without even meeting him.

….

"What purpose do you have to become so strong? What do you plan to do with that power?" Neji had once asked.

"It's none of your concern!" I snapped and also stormed away.

….

"_You will only cause more harm to yourself if you continue to pursue this goal you have Yamouri….I fear you will end up killing yourself." _Guy- sensei's words repeating over and over. I think back to the discussions with Lady Tsunade and how she didn't want me to follow Sasuke's footsteps.

"I make my own decisions this has nothing to do with Sasuke. We may have similar goals, but I have other plans to make mine come true unlike him," I had shouted and Shizune had shivered and Lady Tsunade who would usually run after someone who did such a thing, only bowed her head as I walked out of the room.

~::.::.::.::.::End of flashbacks::.::.::.::.::~

I sit on a tree branch and place my chin on my knees as I pull my legs in towards my chest and watch the sunset go down. A cold breeze plays with the leaves making them float around me until they fall to the ground. My butterfly appears, but I just give it a blank expression as it hovers over me and then I put my head down and sigh.

"I don't understand why you stuck around me…." I mumble while looking at it as it hovers up high and then comes back down a few inches away from my face.

"What exactly do you want?" I add and then he hits my face with its wing and flies up into the dark sky while I try and swing at it. I look down at my bracelet and begin to pick at it again until it unlatches and then I place it on the branch leaving it there. "No more distractions." I jump down and begin to sprint deeper into the woods.

…

"Lady Tsunade…is it true?" Shizune shouts busting open the door and stumbling towards her. She looks up from her papers with a puzzled look and then leans her head onto her hand and sighs asking what is it this time? Shizune panting asks if Yamouri is leaving tomorrow with those mysterious ninja.

"Yes it's true," She sighs.

"But….it'll only make her want to…." She starts and Lady Tsunade explains that her mind has been set on it for years and there's no changing it now. "Yes, but I just don't have a good feeling about those two…" She adds.

"And you wait till now to speak up?" Lady Tsunade snaps and then says it's too late because she leaves tomorrow.

"So it's true…." A voice adds and they both turn to the person walking through the door with his hands in his pockets. "I thought she'd wait another week and a half as planned…"

"Shikamaru it's not polite to ease drop," She adds and notices his odd expression. "If you think you can convince her to stay then you might as well go home and sleep, because you'd have to be able to move a building with your bear hands to change that girls mind."

"I already know that," He smirks and Shizune crosses her arms.

~::.::.::.::.:Later that Night::.::.::.::.::~

"I didn't know you liked caramel apples," I ask while giving Shikamaru a blank expression. Shrugging he takes another bite and offers me some. I cringe my face at the odd color and shake my head. He smirks and then looks down at his laps.

"I think I know why you can't kill him….because deep down there's some sort of feeling there for him, am I right?" He says softly. His words angering me and he quickly tries to calm me down apologizing. I stand up and start to storm off and he grabs my hand pulling me towards him.

"Shika…?" I gasp as the apple falls to the ground.

"I don't want you to go…" He says and my face turns red and I shove him and a sword stabs him from the back and shooting through the front.

"Shikamaru?" I shout at the top of my lungs as blood starts to pour out of his mouth and he falls down to his knees reaching out for me before he falls down completely.

"Nooo!" I scream and start to sob shaking him but his eyes won't open. I look up at Kento who smiles and I jump towards him and he punches my stomach. That's when I notice Naruto along with others bodies' lying all over the ground with blood splattered all over the floor.

"You basterd! What did you do?" I shout and he charges at me with his sword. With no weapons of my own I stand up and start to run as he chases after me turning into that disturbing scorpion. I continue running until I feel the ground underneath me disappear. Reaching for the ledge I scream and start to fall slowly. My heart pounding in my head as I look down at the never ending fall.

"I won't let you take me down!" I shout and feel a burst of light hit me as I shoot out of bed gasping trying to catch my breath like if someone was holding a pillow over my face. Another damn nightmare. Shivering I walk over to my window and look at the village, not able to get the images out of my head. I hold my head and fall down to my knees trying to fill my mind with other thoughts. I fall over on my side and just lay there on the cold hard floor and drift back to sleep praying that I will not dream this time.

"No…" I mumble in my sleep as I toss to the other side.

~::.::.::.::.::The following morning::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright Yamouri," I whisper placing my fat backpack on my back. Careful not to squish the mushrooms I stuffed in there. I look at the time and know that in a few minutes Baku and Takami will arrive. Before two years didn't seem like much, but it's a really long time. I take one last look at my apartment which seems so empty.

"Good bye," I mumble and smile and start to head to the training area to say good bye to my team.

"Neji! Lee?" I shout and see no one is around. I drop my back pack and look around the place I struggled so much on. I take out seven kunai knives and look at the seven targets.

"For old time's sake," I mumble and close my eyes and throw them. When I open them I find that I made every single target except for one. I smile at my improvement and pick up my bag and slowly start to walk off looking back one last time. I start to head to the gate and feel my stomach drop seeing the person waiting there.

"Shikamaru…" I whisper and he looks up at me. Then back down at my bag and puts his hands in his pockets.

"So it's time huh?" He says breaking the silence as the wind picks up ruffling my bangs. I look at the ground tightening my grip on my bag.

"I'm not good at saying goodbye…" I mumble. He smirks and then stands up straight from leaning on the wall and takes a few steps towards me.

"We've been through the good times and bad times, I just hope you decide to come back….the village needs you," He says looking to the side in a sarcastic tone. I don't say anything and just give him a blank expression because that decision is still undecided.

"Don't let Neji search my house," I add nervously. He raises his eyebrows and I tell him not to ask with a little laugh.

"Tell the others I'm sorry, but I have to go now…" I add and walk by him. He just stands there with his hands in his pockets. I look over and see two figures emerge from the clearing.

"Good bye Shikamaru," I say blankly with no emotion in my voice.

"Goody bye Yamouri," He says back and starts to walk off without another word. I look back at him and feel an odd feeling tugging at me. I just don't understand this feeling. I tighten my grip preventing tears from flowing from my eyes as I turn my back to the village and see Baku and Takami coming closer. Baku waves and I attempt a smile as I wipe my eyes and look back and see Shikamaru's gone.

"Oh…that was quite fast," I say softly. Secretly hoping he's still around for a proper goodbye. I bite my lip to avoid from calling out his name.

"Let's make a new promise. If I return I will be the strongest female ninja in this village. No, even better stronger then the majority of guys. I'll pass the Chuunin exam with ease and soon be recommended to be a Jounin," I think to myself and grin feeling ready for my new adventure that waits for us. When they're finally close enough Baku shouts something, but I can't quite make the words. Then I see a third figure appear from the behind them.

"What the….?" I gasp and recognize her as the girl I had run into earlier, Akahana. The same rude girl I almost beat the crap out of.

"What is she doing here?" We both shout at the same time and Baku gives us funny looks. Then scratches his wrinkly forehead asking if we have met before. We just glare at each other and he explains the four of us will be going on the same adventure. Traveling around going to all kinds of villages to embrace new things and especially jutsus. Along the way of course I will be getting hardcore training.

"I can't believe this…." I say under my breath clenching my fists.

"Just to warn you….it won't be easy," Takami says bitterly.

"I like a challenge," I add and start to walk off ahead of them. Baku looks at me in surprise and Akahana smirks and they follow after me.

"Good bye Leaf village," I think to myself as it gets farther and farther behind us.


	47. Chapter 47 To the Sand Village

It's been about three days since I left the leaf village and we started off with traveling to the grass village. Where Baku has been residing for the past decade. He needed to get a few things before we continue on. I haven't said a word to Akahana, and neither has she to me. I still don't get why she's here and I don't care enough to ask. We haven't started with training yet and I've very anxious to see what kind of things he has in store for me. After all I'm willing to sacrifice my time and it better have an amazing result. I sigh heavily as we finally make it past the bamboo forest and into the grass village. This place brings back memories of the mission with Hikaru and Shikamaru.

"Hmm…" I look down at my empty wrist thinking of the bracelet and Takami examines me with a weird expression. I got stuck with two girls I want to beat the crap out of. Baku hasn't said much either. I have so many questions to ask him. Like how him and my father met and things like that. The sad part is that I don't really remember him. It seems all the good memories are fading and all the bad ones are taking over.

"Wait here," Baku says calmly and bows and walks into a brown shed. Takami walks in after him leaving Akahana and I waiting outside.

"Ugh great…" She huffs under her breath and gives me a death glare. I just keep a straight face which makes her even angrier. "What are you looking at!" She snaps.

"I didn't come along to fight with you, I came because Baku gave me the chance I've been waiting for." Her expression goes from angry to surprised and confused as I brush against her and start to walk off.

"Wait…" She mumbles. I turn my head slightly enough to see her in the corner of my eye. Her face reads she's guilty and then she puts on a serious face and agrees the fighting is immature. I turn back around looking down at the ground and then turn my head back when I hear the door open and see Baku walk out with a blue bag and Takami walk out with a red one.

"Ready to go, Kesaki?" He says. I cross my arms and nod and then he asks Akahana and she does the same thing as me.

"Ok good because we're headed to the sand village in a few days," He says putting his hands in the opposite sleeve with his arms crossed.

"Wha…whaaat?" I stutter and he raises his eyebrows. Takami tells me to suck it up because it's not going to be that long of a trip, oh if only she knew.

~::.::.::.::.::A few days later::.::.::.::.::~

"You still haven't told me why Akahana is with us," I whisper to Baku who just keeps his straight expression and blinks twice.

"She's my niece," He says finally and I stop in my tracks as Takami and Akahana walk past. We haven't spoken since the last time about a week ago. I'm trying to adjust to things and am getting very frustrated because Baku hasn't trained with me yet and I'm very concerned that there was never any training to begin with and he's just another goon after the Rairyukami.

"Almost there Baku," Takami says adjusting her backpack on her back. I stare ahead at the sand village. I don't recall being here before. A chilling breeze picks up sand sending it our direction as I look at the unfamiliar place.

"Are you coming or not?" Takami snaps with a glare and Baku turns around. Awkwardly I nod my head and walk ahead of them to be the first one. I don't exactly know why we are going village to village when we can just stay in the grass village to train there. All I need is to master my sword not other jutsus, but they just don't understand.

"What are we doing here anyways?" Akahana finally says breaking the silence. The same question I've been wanting to ask, but didn't.

"I simply need to gain some information. It has nothing to do with our traveling, we'll be here a day or so, trust me," He says. Briefly he talks to the guards who let us through and I look around cautiously gripping my backpack straps harder.

"Takami take them somewhere to stay for the night, I'll meet up with you soon," He whispers and then starts to walk off.

"Why does he keep leaving? Jesus I need to be trained," I snap and Takami nearly slaps me, but as a reflex I grab her hand before she's even raised it.

"Whaaat the…" She gasps and stares into my eyes and shoves my hand off. She explains we will be leaving soon and during our next trip she promises my training will begin. I sigh in frustration and Akahana puts a hand on my shoulder surprising Takami and I.

"I'll go take her to get something to eat, why don't you go drop off our things where we will be staying," She says. Takami glares at her for a 13 year old girl to be ordering her around when she's older. She sees my expression and rolls her eyes and grabs our backpacks and storms off. Not wanting to cause problems with Baku.

"Let's go find something to eat…." She says quietly tugging my arm. I follow after her looking around. And get tired after a while and watch my feet as we continue to walk.

"So…tell me about yourself yeah?" She finally says and eyes me careful.

"I don't know how to start…" I mumble and she crosses her arms.

"Ok….well tell me about that boy that was with you the other day…" She says and I clench my fist to avoid a blush on my face. Of course she'd be talking about Shikamaru. I don't recall her seeing me with anyone else. And it's rather annoying because everyone assumes there's something going on, when there isn't.

"What about him?" I ask nervously and she grins wide then starts to laugh tilting her head back. She flips her green hair over her shoulder still smiling and then bombards me with all kinds of questions like what I like to do and who I have on my team. I return the favor by asking her questions as she explains that she only has her older brother because her parents were killed on a mission. I nod as she states she had a team but left them behind when she moved. She doesn't explain why she moved to the leaf village however, which is a little like me. She's obviously hiding something. She leaves the awkwardest question for last.

"So do you like anyone?" She says with a giggle. I bite my lip hard and a trickle of blood streams down my chin.

"No," I say in a tone with no emotion as I wipe my chin. She stares at me which causes me to get a little fidgety and I look to the side.

"Hmm…I think you do," She teases while nudging my arm.

"I don't have time for such nonsense!" I snap making it awkward again. She rolls her eyes saying she saw this boy before who was amazing, but since she had to move she hasn't seen him sense. Then she goes on talking about how romantic it is when two best friends fall in love. Which makes me roll my eyes trying to tune out her talking.

"Oh maybe we'll stop by your old village, since Baku plans to travel the world or something…." I mumble and she fakes a smile, but being an expert at those I can tell right away. We've been walking around for hours and haven't found a single restaurant. Then again this place does look rather plain.

"We should go find Takami," I add after another round of walking. Akahana grunts and takes her shoes off and begins to walk around bare foot.

Finally the night had fallen. We met up with Takami and she showed us the place we were staying and while they started to get themselves comfortable I walked out. Not feeling like sleeping and wanting to get some fresh air. Also never being here at night and noticing its much darker then the leaf village at this hour.

"No sign of him…not even Temari or that cat suit dude…" I mumble and look up at the barely visible stars. I look down sadly kicking the sand ahead of me and watching it sprinkle in the sky and then back down.

"I should have kept my sketch book….I really need to draw right now," I say softly and see a little girl being chased by a little boy run by shouting something about cooties. I can't help but laugh softly and finally find an open space with targets standing around. Most likely their training area since I heard they started a similar program to the leaf village.

"Finally!" I shout and walk towards it preparing my kunai knives in my hand. I throw a few rounds and begin to pant. Aggravated by my bad aim I throw the next few rounds even harder and then hear foot steps behind. I turn around quickly to find no one else but me. I shrug it off and then get a weird feeling like maybe that Anbu Lady Tsunade hired has followed me here. No… this actually feels different. I hear an explosion followed by millions of knives coming at me. I gasp and start to run with no time for hand signs as I get stabbed in the shoulder and arms and then abruptly it stops. I open my eyes in confusion and find a sand wall surrounding me. Instantly recognizing the familiarity and I slowly pull out the knives of my arms as the sand clears and I see Gaara standing in front of me with his back to me.

"Gaara?" I gasp and he turns his head slightly making eye contact and then he lowers his raised hands he had facing the two ninja covered in all black standing a few feet away. One already dead lying behind them with blood splattered all over the ground.

"Now!" One of them yells and throws knives at him and as usual he doesn't even raise a finger as the sand goes to his defensive. I gasp at the sting of my shoulder and he looks at me.

"Get back!" He shouts. More knives come from behind towards me and he shoves me behind him as the sand automatically protects him. There are now five ninja surrounding us. He briefly explains they are robbers, intruders to be eliminated.

"Can you fight?" He says quietly with my back to his back. I nod and take out a kunai knife in battle stance. We split up as I dive for the two ninjas.

"Shouldn't have caught me off guard!" I shout and do hand signs preparing a lightning ball. They dodge it and fail to recognize it was clone, as the real me appears behind one of them.

"What the hell?" He shouts and I hit him in the back with it, as he screams and falls to the ground. The other curses and charges at me. Slowly I turn my head towards him and smile and he stops in confusion as his eyes widen and he falls to the ground with several kunai knives in his back. The last clone disappears and I look over at Gaara who uses his sand coffin thingy and then he looks over at me. Blood dripping down my arm and my sleeve soaked.

"They were going to steal scrolls, but couldn't even defend themselves…" I think to myself and look down at them. Gaara walks over towards me and looks at my shoulder.

"It's just a scratch," I mumble and he reaches for his pocket and pulls out a roll of bandage wraps and offers it to me. I look down at it and take it and tell him thanks which seems to soften his expression.

"Bravo!" I hear Takami's voice call and I look over and see her standing on a pillar looking down on us. She jumps down and flips her hair and stares at Gaara then at my shoulder.

"Making friends I see…?" She says and I glare at her and Gaara starts to walk off. I look back at him wanting to walk after him, but it'll look wrong to Takami. I cross my arms and continue to glare at her as she watches me and then takes a look at my shoulder and bandages it.

"What do you want?" I add angrily. She smirks and explains she watched the whole fight and reminds me that she is supposed to train me also since she knows just about every lightning jutsu.

"Well then train me!" I add. She shakes her head saying I have to wait. "Wait for what? Why not right now! I don't like waiting…." I add frustrated and then Baku calls for us. I look over at him as he signals Takami to go towards him. I look at the direction Gaara went and run off.

"Where is she going?" Baku asks and Takami shrugs her shoulders.

~::.::.::.::.::A few minutes later::.::.::.::.::~

Looking down at the sand village from the roof I'm standing on, I try and relax myself. Tired, but not willing to fall asleep and angered at my constant yawning and my supposed to be trainers not training. At first I really missed the leaf village, but now it's fading. It's dark and cold here definitely not somewhere I'd like to stay any longer.

"I hate waiting," I say quietly thinking again. I hear footsteps behind me and look back seeing Gaara with his arms crossed.

"Gaara…?" I say softly.

"I always come up here this time," He adds blankly.

"Oh…I always go somewhere like this to think," I stutter and turn back around. He walks up standing in front of the edge where I am.

"I owe you one," I add. 'Well more like two….no actually three. Three times you've saved me, and now I owe you."

His eyes widen with surprise and confusion. I smile shyly and try and stop the urge of asking why his eyes are so dark like that. This boy appears at random times and always where I am right on time almost like he was watching and waiting. I look down at the ground and then back at him. Asking if I can ask him things, he keeps his blank expression.

"Who's that girl, Matsuri?" A girl asks another as they walk past the building and notice Gaara and her talking. Matsuri, Gaara's only student watches with a bit of discomfort.

"She's really pretty," The other girl continues and Matsuri shoots her a glare as she walks off angry.

"Was it something I said…?" She shouts and runs after her.

"Why do you always look so angry…?" I ask nervously and Gaara looks out over the village as the breeze ruffles his red hair. I feel determined to figure this guy out because he figured me out without me even having to tell him, but I don't know why. He finally replies saying he doesn't like to sleep.

"I heard what happened… "He says calmly and closes his eyes as the breeze picks up.

"You don't understand…How it's like," I add aggravated. His eyes widen and I start to walk off brushing shoulders with him as I keep my angered face on.

…..

Determined to find Baku I look all around the village. When I finally do, I insist for him to start training me at that very second. He seems annoyed by my outburst and sighs tiredly, something that annoys me now because it reminds me of Shikamaru.

"Alright then," He says. Shocked that he agreed so suddenly I feel taken back and he starts to explain the origin of the sword again. "First of all you're going to have to learn to concentrate all your chakra to your hand mixing it with your lightning chakra which is something you can do right? Yet not for very long so we need to work on extending your abilities. From there you'll use a regular sword to get used to it. Because the Rairyukami isn't a regular sword and if you can't control the amount of chakra that flows in and out of an object, in other words keep a balance….Then you'll kill yourself. The sword is made to absorb all the chakra of the person wielding it who isn't able to keep this balance. Which explains why you got weaker in your battle. That would also explain the damage on your hands which are also because of the surges of electricity, since you can't control it causing burns and scarring." He throws me a wimpy sword and I look down at it with disgust and he tells me to concentrate the chakra. I nod my head and take a big breathe as the sun starts to come up.


	48. Chapter 48 An Old Face

"Hey get up we're moving again," I hear Akahana's voice as she shoves me to my side. I sit up brushing out hay from my hair and look down at the hay stack I was laying on. I don't even remember falling asleep or even lying down here. I give her a puzzled look and try and stand up and immediately feel the effects of last night.

"Again? I'm exhausted…" I whine and she rolls her eyes and tosses me by back pack. We walk out seeing Takami and Baku already ready to go and with inpatient looks.

"Well it's about time the little princess woke up," Takami says and puts her hands on her hips and glares. As usual she has to be moody towards me for no apparent reason. Baku tells her to be quiet because of my hard training last night I have a good excuse to sleep in. This of course angers her more. I can barely move my arms and I don't think I've been this worn out in a long time. But the pain feels good as well, if that makes sense.

It's been about two months now that I left the village behind. And I don't know if I've made any progress because it doesn't feel like it to me. Baku says I'm improving, but I haven't touched the Rairyukami yet. I have to work up to it, but the good news is that I'm almost past the wimpy sword stage so he can start showing me the techniques of the sword. Because in the past everything happened by accident or by it taking control. Even though I feel the stuff Baku is having me work on such as concentrating chakra to one hand is amateur stuff. There are some good things however, like the new foods I've gotten to taste and of course I love food. It's hard to sneak a mushroom or even walk off alone because Akahana has become like a leech. Not really the annoying kind like Hikaru just the kind that is always there.

"Where are we going this time?" Akahana asks and Baku looks down at his book.

"Wait isn't that the same thing Kakashi reads…?" I think to myself and stare at the weird cover. Baku looks over at me and then hides the cover with his sleeve and continues reading.

"Yup that's it alright…" I think to myself and simply smirk at him. I wonder what kind of stuff is in those books that apparently all the old folks enjoy.

"Oh my gosh look over there!" Akahana shouts and I see a carnival just up ahead in an unfamiliar village. She starts shouting asking if we can go check it out and of course Takami has to try and ruin it by saying it's a waste of time and we should keep going. They start bickering and Baku closes his book with his eyes closed. The same thing Gaara does when he's in his mellow mood.

"Let's go check it out…" He sighs and starts to walk off ahead and with his hand signals for us to follow him. I roll my eyes as Akahana shoves me out of the way.

"Oh YAY!" Akahana shouts loudly and accidently slaps Takami who has to just bite her lip and let it slide because she can't exactly start a fight with Baku's niece. I cover my mouth from laughing out loud at her and she snaps at me with a glare and a ready fist and I glare back. Akahana pulls my hand towards the carnival and slightly shoves Takami again.

When she lets go she runs off somewhere. I stare at all the booths not wanting to be here. It just reminds me of that fair with that future teller. And the leaf village….and my friends. The only good part is….the food! Not really any entertainment besides games. I push my way through a crowd of people as they all gather in front of a throwing booth, bringing back memories I think back to Lee and his throwing contest and I was just standing there watching.

~::.::.::.::.:Flashback::.::.::.::.::~

"Hey you want this?" Shikamaru had asked with that warm smile of his. He was holding a little brown teddy bear and looking at it like it was some sort of disease. Like being seen with such a girly thing will bring him to shame.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked and he handed it to me and I looked down at it with a slight smile. Feeling an odd feeling. I mean friends give friends gifts right?

"I got bored and decided to play something only I didn't think I'd win something…." He said nervously and scratched the back of his head and yawned. I tried really hard not to laugh at him. It was a little rare for someone as lazy as him to actually suck it up and play a game for fun. In fact I was sure Choji had gotten it for him.

"You sure you don't want it?" I asked and held it up to his face. "Look it wants you."

"Eh I have no use for a stuffed animal…" He said. The wind had picked up making it an even weirder moment as I held on to the teddy bear with a grin and birds had flown up above us.

~::.::.::.::.:End Flashback::.::.::.::.::~

Looking down at my plain wrist I wonder if Shikamaru has found what I had left behind on the tree. No distractions…yet my memories and all these flashbacks keep fogging my head. I also remember that future teller making me angry as I get an ominous feeling.

"That's right that stupid lady had disappeared on me…." I think to myself and look around at all the booths getting a weird feeling like she might be here somewhere. I take off scanning the area again and stop by a few times watching people play games. I even get involved with a tossing contest and unfortunately for the regular villagers I beat them and win the prize which was a stack of coupons to trade for a prize of my choosing.

"Yamouri!" Akahana calls and I look at her standing outside a booth with purple curtains draped all around it. "Girl you gotta come here!" Rolling my eyes and I start to walk there noticing it doesn't even have a sign on the outside to let people know what it is.

"What Hana?" I cross my arms waiting for her answer and she pulls back the curtain making me freeze in my place when I see who it is. Dropping my prize at the same time and if my jaw wasn't attached it would also fall on the ground.

"You have to let this lady read your future!" She shouts with even more enthusiasm.

"You…!" The lady stutters quickly standing up and taking a few steps back. "The cursed girl," She thinks to herself. Akahana with confusion nudges me to go in closing the curtain behind me. Unable to speak I just continue staring at the familiar face. Instantly remembering all the things she had told me the last time we had met. I know now that it wasn't my imagination. That she does exist and it wasn't just a dream, if Akahana just saw her. So then I don't understand why she left right away that day back in the leaf village. She grabs a yellow bag sitting behind her chair and takes a few steps back.

"I have some questions for you so don't you even dare try and walk out!" I snap at her and she glares dropping her bag and slowly takes a seat.

"Last time I had read you, I had gotten sick… "She mumbles.

"Well some of what you said is true…So unfortunately for you I need your help," I add and take a seat in front of her carrying a very serious face. "You said there would be two paths remember? Well I remember walking and walking and I ended up having to pick between two paths and I got lost. Also about being in the darkness….well I had problems with my eyesight and it was dark for a very long time. You said there was death in my future….and I died. Even though it was for a few minutes it still counts."

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head which makes me nervous as I lean in to hear what she has to say. She swallows and I can tell there is something bothering her. No longer able to take her silence I ask her again.

"That's not what I meant. When I had read those cards the pictures didn't mean literally…You have to put some time into thinking to figure those out. Only time can show you. As for the last one…" She pauses and takes a sip from her tea and offers me a cup. I nod without even any suspicion as she pours me one and eyes me careful as I take a sip

"You were wrong child. The death I saw was not that," She says with a bitter tone and her face with concern.

"Whaaat…?"I gasp and sit back in my chair. "Then who's did you see?" She bites her lip and looks down at the table.

"Answer me!" I shout and grab onto her collar as I picture Lee, or Neji, or even….Shikamaru dying. "Please tell me…" I mumble letting go as I sink back into my chair sulking. I don't know what I would do if one of those people died…Any of them. I would probably go insane. Mad with rage.

"You'll find out in time, just don't think about it and quit pushing everyone away. You'll regret it if you push away those you should have held close!" She says.

"What about that card you never read to me! What did it say!" I angrily smack the table with my fist making her flinch. She takes a sip from her tea ignoring my question again which adds on to my bad mood. "Listen lady I think it's about time you start answering my damn questions! You left me hanging the last time now give me some answers!"

"It was death and betrayal," She says blankly.

"What?" I gasp.

"That's right. Someone close to you is going to betray you resulting in someone's death, so if I were you I would choose my friends carefully. And even the ones you never suspect could sometimes be your worst enemy. From just you're face I can tell you already close yourself off from your friends. Well that would certainly help you in this case…but at the same time aren't you tired of being lonely? And wasting all your time in the past? No matter what you do you can never bring them back…whoever it was you lost. And from the look of your hands I can tell that's all you train for correct, ninja?" She adds. I wrinkle my face in disgust.

"I've heard that a million times and I'm not changing my mind. Now I have another question," I place my hands on the table and lock them trying to calm myself down.

"Are you able to locate people? You know with your weird mind stuff?" I ask with confusion feeling like I just asked a stupid question.

"Child I can only read the future," She says and takes the last sip of her tea. I feel my eyes get droopy and her getting blurry. After a minute of getting drowsy I collapse on the table knocking over my cup and spilling all over the table top.

"You'll find out in time, child. One day what's lost will be found," She mumbles and puts a blanket over Yamouri's face as she grabs her yellow bag and exits through the back of the booth looking back only once and then with a grin walks off into the woods.

~::.::.::.::.:A few minutes later::.::.::.::.::~

"Yamouri…?"Baku whispers in my ear and I feel a weird rush enter my body and I shoot up facing Takami, Akahana, and him.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Akahana adds. Ignoring her comment I quickly look around noticing I've been lying in an empty space in front of the booths.

"Not again….damn it. It was the tea!" I mumble and hold my head as it starts to throb. Baku helps me up and Takami immediately bombards me with questions. I shake my head and Akahana takes my arm as I adjust my sight. Damn that lady and her stupid drink.

"We found you passed out here. Come to think of if there should be a booth around here…hmm weird…" She adds and puts a finger in her mouth like little kids do. Baku gives me a puzzled look asking if I remember anything I lie and tell him I must have lied down here to sleep.

"Well…I got you something….I remember you telling me you liked to draw so I got you this…" Akahana says and hands me a sketchbook. It's thicker than the ones I have at home and more importantly it's brand new!

"Aw thanks!" I jump up and look down at it with a grin. So many ideas ready to explode on the paper.

"I think it's time that I teach you some actual techniques, but before we do…Just to warn you the stuff you will learn from Takami will prove more useful because you can't depend on the sword to do all of your fighting. If you use it too much it'll start to affect your chakra system. Weird, but true."

"Are you serious…?" I whine and he nods saying it should only be used as a last resort. As he pauses he looks over at Takami who has zoned out with a sad look as she stares off at the clouds. He suddenly gets an idea and turns back at Yamouri.

"I have a better idea….why don't you work with Takami right now…" He adds careful with his word choice as he sees her expression change to agitated. It's not like I want to work with her either. She annoys me to high heavens. Baku starts to lead us off away from the carnival and after a few minutes we arrive to a very big open meadow and he says we can start here. Baku adds him and Akahana will be back in a few hours to check up on us.

"You're leaving me alone with her?" I ask clenching my fist. She smirks and crosses her arms.

…..

"Let's start with a little dual," She says and punches me slamming me into a tree as a gush of blood squirts out of my mouth. I fall down to my knees coughing thinking she might have just broken a rib…and they are already fragile enough from the battle I had recently with Kento. And all she had done was a simple punch.

"Come on brat…show me what you got!" She hisses and pulls my head back by the ponytail. I quickly grab her wrist and twist it and she jumps back annoyed. She starts to do hand signs and demonstrates a lightning jutsu that I've never seen before. Some sort of whip that's made of lightning chakra that rips into three separate whips. She whips them around clumsily on purpose as I try and dodge them and end up being flung to the ground. Quickly getting back up, but too late as the whip hits me in the arm and I feel a harsh sting as I gasp in pain and she pulls the whips back but one hits my back on the way. I fall over feeling some sort of weird energy numbing me as I pant for air. The cold blood from my back and arm starts to trickle down my skin making me shiver at the idea of the cuts being wide open. Barely able to move I look up to see her walking towards me with a face that reads murder. Thoughts go into my mind like maybe she's the one that's supposed to betray me, but I've never been close to her to begin with. She kicks me as I fall over to my side telling her stop. Never have I given up so quickly, but I know she'll kill me. She bends down looking at me and smirks and starts to curse and grabs me by the neck and slams me into the tree.

"That's how I like my pawns…weak and desperate," She says with a grin and drops me as I hear Baku shout for her to stop. She crosses her arms reassuring him that she wasn't going to hurt me. Baku offers me some water and I smack it away making it spill on her. She takes my hair again and swings her fist but Baku stops her and with just a slight shove makes her fly across the meadow. Astonished I slowly stand up staring at her and then at him as he picks up the water bottle.

"She's just hard to warm up to. It'll take a while but if you work at it you'll get on her good side," He smiles and his eyes squint. Surely it's not the same as Guy-sensei's smile. Which makes me realize only he will ever be my true sensei. These people are so strong….I bet with just a flick of a finger they can bruise someone.

"Why does she hate me?" I ask glaring at her as she sits up and curses punching the ground.

"I'm not sure…." He adds. "She's always been this way to new people."

"Why?" I add wiping my wounds as he reaches for some bandages.

"It's a long story…" He sighs.


	49. Chapter 49 Takami's Past

"Takami had a bit of a rough past…You see nothing hurts more than losing the one you truly love," Baku starts.

When she was just a little girl her mother had died of illness and she never knew her father. Nowhere else to go she went to live with her old grandfather in a hidden village far off deep into the mountains. Not wanting to make any friends she only got herself into all sorts of trouble and being sent away from the academy several times. Her grandfather became her sensei, but when he became too old he had to stop and she was stuck just like Yamouri is. Learning to depend on only herself and taking care of her grandfather she soon became so comfortable by it she forgot her goals which was to find her long lost father. Until one day she had met a boy that changed the way she thought. His name was Akio. He'd notice her always being alone and one day couldn't help but follow her to see what is it she did when everyone else would be in groups. Seeing her cry made him get a weird feeling until he finally sucked it up and went up to her. Of course she didn't want to talk to him right away, but after a while of being so persistent she just couldn't keep pushing him away. Before she knew it they started spending a lot of time together and even got put into a team together along with another guy, Kei. After a good two years of working together they seemed to have realized their feelings for each other and unable to hide it any longer they started dating; both knowing they found their perfect match. Everything was perfect except that Takami wanted to get even stronger and since no one she thought was worthy to train her in the village, she decided to put it to the side for now but would one day leave wanting Akio to accompany her. Except that everything changed on that one fateful day.

Takami and her team were assigned a special mission in the land of tea. Fighting side by side Kei had gotten severely injured which slowed them down on their way back. A group of mysterious ninja had appeared to them and without reason decided to attack. Takami was targeted, and Akio jumped in her way taking a fatal blow. Only minutes left he had told her how much he loved her. With nothing to do she just held him in her arms as he passed away. Kei dying moments later. Wanting to take her own life she raised a knife to her neck and that's when Baku had found her. A total wreck. Unable to speak. Even more alone than ever before. He had helped her back to the village where she had made the decision to leave her grandfather behind. Packing her things and leaving the next day with Baku to become what she was destined to be, an avenger.

Baku then says she most likely hates me because I do resemble him in a way with the brown hair and green eyes. And on top of that I have Shikamaru like she had Akio.

"Oh but it's not like that with Shikamaru….he's just a brother…" I mumble nervously and also agitated that this is happening again. I look over at Takami who has seemed to have disappeared. Baku explains she had left before he started. Of course she's going to be pissed that he told me. I understand now though why she's so bitter and she's just like me in almost every way. It's quit astonishing that I keep running into people with such similarities. I stand up and decide to look for her. Because I can get through to her possibly and maybe…just maybe we can be friends.

"Doesn't she know my history?" I ask turning to him as he slowly stands back up. He nods. I turn towards the woods and run as hard as I can scanning everywhere.

"Takami!" I shout and hear a strange noise coming from a few feet away. I shout out her name again and find her sitting in front of a river digging her kunai knife into the ground which is kind of a sign this isn't a good time to approach her. Being as stubborn as I am I slowly walk up to her and she stops and slowly turns her head towards me. Thinking the words I'm about to say carefully until I swallow my pride and apologize for anything I've done to her. She looks puzzled and then smirks and throws rocks into the river. That's when I notice how her eyes look. Because of Gaara I try and look for signs of what he was talking about and I think I can see it. That glimpse of despair. Spending most of her time crying.

"You know sometimes crying doesn't mean weakness…it means you've been strong for too long," I add and take a seat by her. With a blank face she just stares at me waiting for what I will say next. "I use to be afraid to be close to people before…Not wanting to ever feel losing someone ever again…Or even betrayal…I didn't wanna be the broken hearted girl again. But in time I came to overcome my fears and I've made some really good friends, and I'm glad….That…I did."

"He told you didn't he…?" She says under breath and looks down at the flowing river. "Don't you dare say another word. It's not like you've ever experienced what I felt."

"I do…remember?" I add trying to keep my voice calm. She raises her head and then looks back down to her knees.

"Why don't we start on a new page yeah? And if you want….you can still train me…" I add. She attempts a smile which makes me smile glad that I reached to her. "I'll take that as a yes?"

"Can I just ask you a question?" She adds sitting up with a serious face now.

"Go ahead…" I start to fidget with my fingers waiting.

"So you and that boy…what's the story?" She says with a slight grin.

"Not again…damn it!" I think to myself and feel a red blush appear on my face and I put my hands on my cheeks. "He's my brother ok?" I shout and she starts to laugh out loud and Akahana walks out from the trees asking if we are ready to travel again.

"Again…" I whine and Takami tells me to suck it up in her old tone of voice which shocks me. Until she turns around and gives me a thumbs up.

~::.::.::.::.:A few weeks later::.::.::.::.::~

"Alright Yamouri do it one more time and you got it!" Takami shouts with ready position.

"Lightning Release: Six pillar bind!" I shout. Six pillars shoot out of the ground surrounding her clone as lightning surges quickly shoot towards her in a blink of an eye making her clone disappear along with the ground shaking at the immense lightning surge being used. Lastly the pillars explode sending rock pieces everywhere. I fall to my knees feeling weak and panting for that's about the twentieth time today doing that technique. She comes from behind and puts her hand on my shoulder.

"Well done," She says and helps me up saying that it's enough for a day. We've been working nonstop and staying in this village for about two months now and Baku says it's almost time to leave again. I no longer complain and am getting used to it. It's about seven months since I left the village and I've learned some new jutsus, but not progress with the sword. If Takami keeps this up though I might not need the sword after all. I look down at my hands surprised that this time they didn't get burned. She adds that it's weird that a shinobi from the cloud village gets burned using lightning chakra. And I tell her it's cause I'm weird and different.

"Ready to go?" Akahana shouts and jumps up and down with excitement. A completely different girl than that day I met her in the leaf. Her cold attitude, and now she acts like she's five. Although there are times that she acts like she's twenty. I guess it all depends on her mood at the time.

After a bit of walking we arrive to the hidden rock village. Baku tells us to go look around for something to do while he goes looking for whatever he does at every village we stop. He doesn't tell us much. I don't complain though. After all him and Takami has been working hard with me. Working on my old techniques to improve them and learning brand new ones from scratch. As for my invisible jutsu…it's not really going to be much help. Since after all it only works for five minutes so it's just as weak as the clone jutsu or transformation one. Best use for it is to sneak around which now that I think of it I can't believe I never thought it about it before when I was hiding from Hikaru. I look at some buildings and villagers walk by and even some rock ninja.

"Let's go get something sweet!" Akahana says and points to a shack. Sighing she takes my wrist and pulls me towards it. Two boys turn around from receiving their caramel balls. My mouth waters just staring at it. The two boys are very good looking and they stare at us as Akahana excuses herself to get past to order.

"Oh take ours," They say in unison and one of them smiles at me which sends a weird rush through me and I feel a slight blush form.

"Are you sure?" Akahana asks and the other guys nods also smiling and hands her his caramel ball. The boy in front of me hands me his and introduces himself as Riku and his friend Genjiro. Akahana takes the liberty of introducing herself and me to them and I just stand there enjoying my caramel ball.

"Yamouri? What an interesting name," Riku says with a grin which makes me get a weird bubbly feeling in my stomach. Akahana nudges me and invites the two boys to hang with us since they live here and they could show us to all the fun sights.

"Alright, let's do it Genjiro," Riku says and he nods and starts talking to Akahana as they walk ahead.

"So what are you guys doing in the rock village?" Riku says breaking the silence.

"Training mission. We're taking breaks along the way visiting villages," I mumble finishing the last bite of the caramel ball. He laughs as I choke down the last piece suddenly feeling like its Shikamaru right beside me. I stop walking and look at the floor and back at him. His soft light brown eyes remind me so much of Hikaru. His black hair similar to Kento's. I don't get what is his deal. Like if he wants something.

"Are you guys coming or not?" Akahana hisses and I look over at her as she starts giggling at something Genjiro said. Riku asks if I'm ok and he smiles again which seems to have a weird affect because I start to nod like an idiot and he chuckles at me sliding his hand through his hair. He looks about a year or two older now that I think about it. We start walking after Akahana and Genjiro as Riku makes small talk asking me what I like to do and what rank ninja I am.

"So….Uh…..Do you have a boyfriend?" He stutters with sweat forming on his face. My face turns a light shade of pink as I look away.

"I don't have time for that nonsense. I have to focus on other things…" I start. Feeling myself sink back into the emotionless pit I like to sulk in. He starts to ask me what I am talking about, but I interrupt him telling him it's not really his business. Genjiro is leading us as we walk up this rocky hill with stoned steps and at the top looks like some sort of shrine.

"What is that?" I ask softly and Riku smiles at me explaining it's just a little place to meditate.

"Mediate?" I add.

"Yeah you know... the emptying of the mind of thoughts. Concentration of the mind on one thing, in order to aid mental or spiritual development, contemplation, or relaxation," He explains and I nod already knowing what it meant but not wanting to seem rude after all he's trying really hard.

"Do you guys meditate?" I add and Genjiro turns around yelling with enthusiasm that they do about four times every day. His attitude just like Lee.

"We should all meditate right now," Akahana adds. Genjiro gets excited with the idea and Riku opens the door for us.

"Such cute gentlemen," Akahana whispers to me. I roll my eyes and cross my arms as I see a very large room with benches nailed to the sides and purple pillows in a corner stacked. Riku grabs four and places them in a square in the center of the room. He then gets a jar in the center of the pillows and puts some sort of thing inside that fills the room with some scented steam.

"I like doing this because it makes you feel so clean afterwards!" Riku shouts and takes a seat on a pillow. I take a seat next to him and he puts his legs crossed. I do the same and Akahana laughs at this as she does the same. Genjiro immediately goes into it with his hands in a rabbit hand seal.

"Uh…why is he doing that?" I whisper, but Riku is already out of it with his eyes closed. Like he's put himself to sleep but he's still sitting up. I look over at Akahana who is sleeping on the floor.

"Wow Hana…" I mumble and try not to laugh out loud and disturb them.

"Alright Yamouri….let yourself get lost into your thoughts..." I think to myself and make the hand sign of dragon. It doesn't really matter I guess what position you put your hands in. I close my eyes and listen to my breathing letting myself drift into meditation.


	50. Chapter 50 True Character

"Wow did you really just stick that on my back?" I snap at Riku who laughs childishly and rubs his hair. Even though he just stuck a piece of paper on my back, I slightly laugh at myself for letting him put it there in the first place. He smiles and asks if I want to go get some ice cream but he doesn't get to finish what he was going to say next because Akahana called for me turning our attention to her.

"See you later…" He stutters as I walk away waving. I run towards Akahana who is waiting impatiently and complains about my laziness.

"So….?" She says after a while. Raising my eyebrows I wait for her next question. "Did you guys kiss?" She says annoyed that I didn't get what she meant.

"No….why would we?" I add crossing my arms she shakes her head and calls me naïve. I roll my eyes at this. Such a silly girl only thinking about boys instead of improving her skills.

"Look I get it. You'd rather train and what not, but seriously do something fun for once! Try something new…Unless…." She gasps and eyes me carefully.

"What?" I hiss.

"You ARE dating that shadow boy….oh lalala," She teases clapping her hands. I roll my eyes and start to walk off leaving her behind and mumbling about going to find Baku. After all she only talks about dating and all that other nonsense around me.

It's been about a year or so since I left the village. We were supposed to be back in a year but as predicted I still need more work. And I just don't know if I really want to go back yet. We've been in the rock village for a few months. Baku decided it was a great place for me to train. On our spare time Akahana and I hang with Riku and Genjiro. As annoying as she is. She has a theory that Riku might like me. Whatever. Back to the training….well let's just say that I could probably pass the Chuunin exam much easier this time around. With all the hardcore training and all. Baku is still too nice however. If it was anyone else they'd be pushing me much harder. And that's just what I need a hardcore trainer. As for my drawing goes I still do it but it's hard to do in private with the leech Akahana. Takami has been opening up more also, and we've become really good friends though she hasn't been training me much because she disappears at odd times of the day, and doesn't appear again till much later in the day.

"Stop zoning out!" Akahana slightly tugs my shirt and I blink twice before glaring at her.

"Well geez…" I mumble not even noticing she had been walking behind me. I wave ahead as I spot Baku sharpening his weapons.

"Oh there you are…I need to talk to you about that jutsu I showed you the other day…." Takami calls and starts to walk towards me. She looks extremely tired.

~::.::.::.::.:The next day::.::.::.::.::~

"That's enough for today," Baku says and brushes some dust off his shoulder. My panting gets even heavier and I collapse to my side gasping for air. He starts to walk off mumbling about finding Takami. He suggests to go do something fun for myself like a treat for all the hard work. I brush off the dust from my clothes and walk towards the place we're staying at. Akahana walks out with Genjiro and Riku which catches me off guard.

"Oh perfect timing we were just coming to get you!" She cheers and nudges Riku towards me making him bump me and his face turning red. I glare at her as she grins satisfied with herself. She takes Genjiro by the arm and Riku suggests we go somewhere. Not exactly feeling in the mood to walk around, but not wanting to turn him down either, I agree.

After a few minutes of debating where to go, I lead him up to a roof top because they always have the best view of the entire village. I briefly explain to him it's even more beautiful at night. He nods looking at the darkening sky. He suggests we hang up here to watch the sunset which makes me even more excited. As soon as we get there and the breeze hits my face I start thinking about the chat I had with Gaara a few months ago on a roof top in the sand village. I imagine him standing by the edge and turning around and smiling at me as the suns light high lights his face. I smile back feeling a weird feeling and then his face turns into Shikamaru which confuses me and then finally to a confused Riku. Embarrassed, I look down at the ground not sure why I'm day dreaming about them. Reassuring myself it was only because I've had a long day that I'm imaging weird things, I look back up towards Riku and for a second…just a glimpse I swear I'm standing in front of my long gone brother.

"Kyho…?" I gasp and step back as Riku wrinkles his eyebrows.

"Huh? You're acting weird Yami…" He stutters and tries to put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down, but I slap it away. All these images race through my head, and I try not to scream out. When I look at poor Riku who looks completely lost.

"Sorry…" I stutter and look over the edge as the sky starts to darken. As the time goes the shades of orange and red turn into a dark purple until the sky is completely dark. The stars start to appear. Riku tries to start a conversation which snaps me out of zoning out again. He sighs at his sad attempts and starts to mumble to himself about being a loser.

"What?" I ask and he slightly blushes.

"Well…You see…I've been meaning to tell you something for a while…" He stutters and turns his head to the side. I tilt my head in confusion. He turns to me again and puts his hand under my chin and presses his lips onto mine. My eyes look like they are going to pop out of my head. I slightly push him away trying to keep a straight face.

"What…?" He says and scratches the back of my head. This guy barely knows a thing about me and he thinks he can just go around doing that. I fight back the urge of smacking his face just telling myself it was an innocent kiss. A kiss that felt like nothing, it was empty. And now all I can think of is Shikamaru.

"I have to go…." I add and start to walk off and he grabs my wrist and pulls me towards him.

"I didn't say you could go," He says and presses his lips again and I shove him off.

"I don't want to kiss you! Goodbye Riku," I snap and shove his hand again and this time he wraps his arm around my neck squeezing tighter making me gasp for air.

"You can't reject me," He hisses, reminding me of Kento which activates my intense anger. I grip his hand thinking of all the things Baku has taught me and twist his arm hard hearing a loud snap sound like I broke it and also ripped it out of its socket. He falls to his knees moaning in pain and grasps it.

"How pathetic," I add and punch his face making him fly back. He moans again and tries to get back up but I crack my knuckles to show him I mean business and he falls back down lying there like a lump. I figured he'd have way more of a fight in him, but I guess it was all just a pathetic act. Of course I have an odd feeling about this, but it doesn't matter because Riku just showed his true character. I run down the stairs and run into Akahana who notices my sense of urgency.

"Yamouri what's wrong?" She says while eyeing me carefully. At that moment I decide it's better to leave things unsaid. I tell her nothing of her concern which turns her look into a glare.

"Ok…" She says under her breath. Finally arriving at the place we're staying at, I grab a rain coat as it starts to pour down rain. With that on I start to run off looking for a place where I can have a moment alone. I use to do something similar when I was younger. Run out in the rain, but Kyho would always come looking for me with my polka dot umbrella. I spot a cave and start to run towards it making sure no one else is around or following me. Once inside I unzip my coat and let out a big sigh listening to the raindrops fall. Finally some peace and quiet away from the stresses of my life.

Yet how could being alone feel so nice, yet so heart wrenching at the same time? Sure people say to just forget the past, but how can you honestly just erase something like that? Sulking won't get me far either, but there are times when I just know what a failure I am. I start to think about the weird kiss Riku had given me. It felt strange, not right, and at the back of my head, though I hate to admit it an image of Shikamaru had appeared.

"Damn it…." I think to myself and look out the entry way of the cave. "I hope they're not right. Have I fallen for that lazy bum?" I close my eyes and relax letting myself drift to sleep.

~::.::.::.::.:A few minutes later::.::.::.::.::~

I open my eyes and see the sun's light outside and like a spot light, high lighting a specific area in the woods. Quickly I stand up and brush myself off from the dusty floor. I walk out and see a figure standing in the middle of some trees with the spot light shining right on it.

"Shikamaru…?" I mumble rubbing my eyes and he turns around and smiles walking towards me. "What are you doing here?" I extend my hand out to see if he's real, but I fall to my face instead and when I lift my head he's no longer there. Feeling like I've been hit by a giant boulder I put my face back down on the ground and turn over onto my back and look at the sky. A sudden feeling of emptiness taking over as I lay there starring at the clouds.

"I miss…" I start to say and feel myself shoot up hearing a sound coming from outside the cave. I had fallen asleep, not keeping my guard up and a noise had startled me bring me to wake up. I take out a kunai knife and listen for another noise and hear people talking outside.

"Just kill her already," I hear a voice say. I walk towards the entry way to get a better look of the outside. Watching my step to not cause any unnecessary attention. Thinking they could possibly be talking about me I ready myself for a surprise attack, but spot a figure standing a few feet away from them. The figure pounces at the two guys and slams one hard into the sharp edges of the cliff. I finally recognize it as Akahana. She throws the guy a few feet behind her and turns to glare at the other guy who just stands there unable to move.

Akahana takes out a regular sword. The small kind that's half the size of mine. She calmly walks towards the fallen guy as he apologizes for bothering her, honestly sounding sincere. I get a strange feeling like I should step in, but it's too late and Akahana slices his chest and then slams him into the wall again cutting his arms and then his legs.

"Akahana that's enough!" I shout. She doesn't look like she can hear me. And without warning goes after the other guy who just stands there lost. He puts his hands up in his surrender. Her chakra seems different and her expression blank. She does a hand sign and her fingers turn into claws as she digs them into the man's chest, slowly she then raises her arm with her hand still inside.

"Shouldn't have bothered in the first place, dipshit!" She snaps and twists her hand in a circle and drops him. His eyes still open and he whispers he's sorry one more time before his eyes close.

"Akahana….what the hell!" I shout and run towards the fallen man checking for a pulse, but he no longer has one. She takes a few steps towards me. "What are you doing now!" I yell and tighten my grip on my kunai knife thinking at any minute I might have to use it against her.

"Relax…." She says and walks past me.

"Why did you kill them! They didn't even do anything serious….they begged for mercy and you…." I add. Her expression becoming fiercer like she's ordering me to shut up with her eyes.

"They got what they deserve," She adds with a bitter tone and the cracks her knuckles.

"No they didn't!" I yell even louder which surprises her.

"Quit being so pathetic! Part of being a shinobi is showing no mercy! They only know how to beg for food like pathetic low lives, taunting at shinobi and not able to defend themselves," She turns around and that's when I notice her hand is dripping blood, but it's hers own blood.

"When they beg for their life, it's different! That man actually sounded sincere," I add sternly which pisses her off even more.

"That's why you're still so weak. Why would you bother giving them a chance? They were nothing but a bunch of rogue ninja. Being a shinobi means standing your ground. And being able to kill without regret wtihout an emotion. How do you expect to defeat Kento with that attitude? For a girl who speaks about revenge you sure don't seem fully committed. You're not capable of killing someone you cared so much about no matter what they did! If you're going to be thinking like that then why bother being a ninja! Ninjas are assassins, not charity workers!" She continues.

"Just shut up!" I yell.

"That's enough!" Baku interrupts and shows up with Takami. He tells Akahana to leave and looks at me waiting for my reaction. He had heard the conversation. He immediately starts to apologize for her which makes me even anger and I storm off not wanting to hear any more of it. She just showed me her true self.

~::.::.::.::.:A few days Later::.::.::.::.:: ~

Akahana had apologized. I accepted, but deep down her words will always remain, and no matter how much I hate those words I know they are true. I've only been all talk, but I'm just not capable to hate with every ounce of my being like I always said.

"Have you heard from Riku lately?" Akahana says breaking the silence. I look down at my sharpened weapons remembering the day he forced a kiss on me.

"No." Her eyebrows twitch and she adds that he really likes me.

"I know," I add not to excited about the subject.

"Wow you sure don't seem that happy about it! I mean he likes you! That's so cute," She whines and looks up at the clouds. "Genjiro told me you guys kissed….and you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't kiss him. He kissed me. And I didn't think it was important," I add blankly pulling my knees to my chest. She continues by asking me what happened and when I told her she threatened to hurt him. Reminding me of that day she killed those two innocent men.

"No need I broke his arm," I sigh and she starts to laugh at his misery. After all her annoying questions she still isn't done yet. She asks how it was like and if I liked it at all. I look up at the clouds remembering the activity with Shikamaru watching them for hours making shapes and objects out of them.

"I felt nothing."

"Oh why not?" She tilts her head waiting for my reply. Assuming she knows she claps her hands together and says Shikamaru. Then continues on that I'm finally realizing my feeling for Shikamaru. That I wasn't able to let myself enjoy the kiss because Shikamaru is always on my mind.

"That's not it at all. Quit trying to pretend like you know everything about me," I snap. She sighs at her failed attempt of trying to get close to me.

"If you keep denying it, he'll find someone else. Maybe….just maybe he's tired of waiting for you," She says. Her words seem to send shivers down my spine and sinking into my mind. I close my eyes and walk off with my arms crossed shaking away the subject.

"It doesn't matter, if I don't think of going back," I think to myself and go off to find Baku.

…...

"Alright Yamouri, You've made some tremendous progress and you're defiantly at Chuunin level. That's why we are going to go back to the leaf village for you to take it, if you'd like we can continue afterwards, with the training I mean. After all it's been a year since you've last taken it." I nod in agreement not really wanting to see anyone there. So I tell myself I will only be there for business and not for them.

"With that in mind it's time for a very important question," Baku's voice drops into a more serious malevolent tone. "How badly do you want this? Because if you truly desire to have this power to defeat Kento then you're going to have to change."

"Who I am is not who I wanna be," I mumble.

"Then you're going to have to change the way you think. In order to maintain so much power you need to learn who to trust and who not to trust. Lessoning distractions and then we can finally start to get serious. Don't worry we will only travel a few more times," He adds.

"I understand," I agree. Having my guard down he disappears in a flash and slams me onto the floor snapping my wrist. I scream out in pain and he stands up and brushes his shoulder.

"Never ever have your guard down. To survive you must learn to fear nothing at all. Pain breeds weakness, suffering exists only because weakness exists. So quit being scared and attack me with everything you have!" He shouts and starts to do hand signs. Having doubts about his sudden change of attitude I hesitate not to attack and he starts to yell. I look down at my hands and up at the charging Baku.

"Quit living in denial. I am a fighter, there is no turning back," I tell myself and with a new lightning jutsu, charge at Baku with all I got. It's like he's not even holding back yet at the same time it's like he's going easy on me but still with such immense power. I take a blow to my side and fly back several feet as he jumps landing next to me. Choking on my own blood I try and whisper to him.

"Listen Yamouri, I'm willing to give you what no one else wanted to offer you…in order to be who you were destined to be. Training like this will help you get there faster. I've been going way too easy on you before because I wanted to get a clear evaluation of your skills, but it's time to finally get serious," he explains.

"How is beating me to a bloody pulp going to help me?" I think to myself and hold my side.

"You're at a beginner's level and if you want to be a fair match for Kento then you're going to have to level up and in a short amount of time. So get up we have work to do," He offers me a hand and I slowly rise back on my feet.

"Just one more thing…always remember when no one will be your hero, you have to be your own hero. You have to save yourself when no one is willing to save you. If you can't save yourself then you are not worthy to live. So learn to depend on yourself and only on you. Forget what others say. Bonds only create a weakness for you and Kento will use that against you. So time to make a change, time to get serious all the way," He jumps back ready to attack and signals me for ready position. His words sink in and I decide to go with it. I will work on erasing those bonds and I will become what I was meant to be, an avenger.

**Well this is it! The end of Part 1! whoo 50 chapters! Not bad for my first fanfic :) Anyways thanks for reading so far. The second part will be seperate, and it will start with Yamouri coming back from her training a few days before Naruto returns for the beginning of Shippuden :D. About 3 years that she will be gone and I'm just gonna skip over all her training stuff, but in the second part she will recall some of it. Well if you liked this then just as a heads up the second part will have romance, more action, more comedy, and more drama. Well review and let me know what you think and feel free to give me tips so I can make this story better. And if you liked it in 1st person or if I should change it...? Let me know. ^_^**


	51. Chapter 51 Sequel

**The sequel is finally up called An Avenger: Yamouri's Quest Continues.**

**Anyways enjoy and thanks again for the reviews! **


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